N Engl J Med In New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 365, No. 11. (31 August 2011), e21.
Elderly people and younger people with disabilities who are eligible for health coverage through both Medicare and Medicaid (?dual eligibles?) are among the sickest and poorest people in the United States. Dual eligibles' extensive needs for medical and long-term care are often complicated by a perplexing and inefficient system of overlapping benefits, skewed incentives for health care providers, and financing fragmented between the federal and state governments. Medicare is the primary payer for dual eligibles and covers services including hospitals, physicians, and prescription drugs; Medicaid covers long-term care and is a secondary payer for Medicare-covered services. About 9.2 million Americans . . . Elderly people and younger people with disabilities who are eligible for health coverage through both Medicare and Medicaid (?dual eligibles?) are among the sickest and poorest people in the United States. Dual eligibles' extensive needs for medical and long-term care are often complicated by a perplexing and inefficient system of overlapping benefits, skewed incentives for health care providers, and financing fragmented between the federal and state governments. Medicare is the primary payer for dual eligibles and covers services including hospitals, physicians, and prescription drugs; Medicaid covers long-term care and is a secondary payer for Medicare-covered services. About 9.2 million Americans . . .
Lisa Clemans-Cope, Timothy Waidmann
Improving Care for Dual Eligibles through Innovations in Financing
Medicaid News, Syndicated
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Sep 152011
N Engl J Med In New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 365, No. 11. (31 August 2011), e21.Stroke and death after carotid endarterectomy and carotid artery stenting with and without high risk criteria
Medicaid News, Syndicated
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Aug 262011
Journal of Vascular Surgery, Vol. 52, No. 6. (December 2010), pp. 1497-1504.
OBJECTIVE: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement criteria for carotid artery stenting (CAS) require that patients be high surgical risk or enrolled in a clinical trial. This may bias comparisons of CAS and carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We evaluate mortality and stroke following CAS and CEA stratified by medical high risk criteria. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2004-2007) was queried by ICD-9 code for CAS and CEA with diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis. Medical high risk criteria were identified for each patient including patients undergoing a coronary artery bypass and/or valve repair (CABG/V) during the same admission. Symptom status was defined by history of stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and/or amarosis fugax. The primary outcome was postoperative death, stroke (complication code 997.02), and combined stroke or death, stratified by high risk vs non-high risk status and symptom status. RESULTS: Patient totals of 56,564 (10.5%) CAS and 482,394 (89.5%) CEA were identified. Half of the patients in each group were high risk. CABG/V was performed less commonly with CAS than CEA (2.8% vs 4.0%, P < .001). Patients undergoing CAS were more likely symptomatic than those undergoing CEA (13.1% vs 9.4%, P < .001). Mortality was higher after CAS than CEA for both high risk and non-high risk patients. Stroke was also higher after CAS for both high risk and non-high risk patients. Combined stroke or death was higher after CAS again for both high risk (asymptomatic 1.5% vs 1.2%, P < .05, symptomatic 14.4% vs 6.9%, P < .001) and non-high risk (asymptomatic 1.8% vs 0.6%, P < .001, symptomatic 11.8% vs 4.9%, P < .001). Combined stroke or death for patients undergoing CABG/V during the same admission was similar for CAS and CEA (4.8% vs 3.2%, P = .19). Multivariate predictors of combined stroke or death adjusted for age and gender included CAS vs CEA (odds ratio [OR] 2.4, P < .001), symptom status (OR 6.8, P < .001), high risk (OR 1.6, P < .001), and earlier year of procedure (OR 1.1, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: In the United States from 2004 to 2007, CAS has a higher risk of stroke and death than CEA after adjustment for medical high risk criteria. Further analysis with prospective assessment of risk factors is needed to guide appropriate patient selection for CEA and CAS in the general population. Copyright Copyright 2010 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved
KA Giles, AD Hamdan, FB Pomposelli, MC Wyers, ML Schermerhorn, Kristina Giles, Allen Hamdan, Frank Pomposelli, Mark Wyers, Marc Schermerhorn
OBJECTIVE: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement criteria for carotid artery stenting (CAS) require that patients be high surgical risk or enrolled in a clinical trial. This may bias comparisons of CAS and carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We evaluate mortality and stroke following CAS and CEA stratified by medical high risk criteria. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2004-2007) was queried by ICD-9 code for CAS and CEA with diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis. Medical high risk criteria were identified for each patient including patients undergoing a coronary artery bypass and/or valve repair (CABG/V) during the same admission. Symptom status was defined by history of stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and/or amarosis fugax. The primary outcome was postoperative death, stroke (complication code 997.02), and combined stroke or death, stratified by high risk vs non-high risk status and symptom status. RESULTS: Patient totals of 56,564 (10.5%) CAS and 482,394 (89.5%) CEA were identified. Half of the patients in each group were high risk. CABG/V was performed less commonly with CAS than CEA (2.8% vs 4.0%, P < .001). Patients undergoing CAS were more likely symptomatic than those undergoing CEA (13.1% vs 9.4%, P < .001). Mortality was higher after CAS than CEA for both high risk and non-high risk patients. Stroke was also higher after CAS for both high risk and non-high risk patients. Combined stroke or death was higher after CAS again for both high risk (asymptomatic 1.5% vs 1.2%, P < .05, symptomatic 14.4% vs 6.9%, P < .001) and non-high risk (asymptomatic 1.8% vs 0.6%, P < .001, symptomatic 11.8% vs 4.9%, P < .001). Combined stroke or death for patients undergoing CABG/V during the same admission was similar for CAS and CEA (4.8% vs 3.2%, P = .19). Multivariate predictors of combined stroke or death adjusted for age and gender included CAS vs CEA (odds ratio [OR] 2.4, P < .001), symptom status (OR 6.8, P < .001), high risk (OR 1.6, P < .001), and earlier year of procedure (OR 1.1, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: In the United States from 2004 to 2007, CAS has a higher risk of stroke and death than CEA after adjustment for medical high risk criteria. Further analysis with prospective assessment of risk factors is needed to guide appropriate patient selection for CEA and CAS in the general population. Copyright Copyright 2010 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved
KA Giles, AD Hamdan, FB Pomposelli, MC Wyers, ML Schermerhorn, Kristina Giles, Allen Hamdan, Frank Pomposelli, Mark Wyers, Marc Schermerhorn
Positive predictive value of the AHRQ Patient Safety Indicator "postoperative wound dehiscence"
Medicaid News, Syndicated
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Aug 262011
Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Vol. 212, No. 6. (June 2011), pp. 962-967.
BACKGROUND: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicator (PSI) 14, or "postoperative wound dehiscence," is 1 of 4 PSIs recently adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to compare quality and safety across hospitals. We determined how well it identifies true cases of postoperative wound dehiscence by examining its positive predictive value (PPV). STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cross-sectional study of hospitalization records that met PSI 14 criteria was conducted within the Veterans Health Administration hospitals from fiscal years 2003 to 2007. Trained abstractors used standardized abstraction instruments to review electronic medical records. We determined the PPV of the indicator and performed descriptive analyses of cases. RESULTS: Of the 112 reviewed cases, 97 were true events of postoperative wound dehiscence, yielding a PPV of 87% (95% CI 79% to 92%). Sixty-one percent (n = 59) of true positive cases had at least 1 risk factor, such as low albumin level, COPD, or superficial wound infection. False positives were due to coding errors, such as cases in which the patient's abdomen was intentionally left open during the index procedure. CONCLUSIONS: PSI 14 has relatively good predictive ability to identify true cases of postoperative wound dehiscence. It has the highest PPV among all PSIs evaluated within the Veterans Health Administration system. Inaccurate coding was the reason for false positives. Providing additional training to medical coders could potentially improve the PPV of this indicator. At present, this PSI is a promising measure for both quality improvement and performance measurement; however, its use in pay-for-performance efforts seems premature. Copyright Copyright 2011 American College of Surgeons. All rights reserved
M Cevasco, AM Borzecki, DA McClusky, Q Chen, MH Shin, KM Itani, AK Rosen, Marisa Cevasco, Ann Borzecki, David McClusky, Qi Chen, Marlena Shin, Kamal Itani, Amy Rosen
BACKGROUND: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicator (PSI) 14, or "postoperative wound dehiscence," is 1 of 4 PSIs recently adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to compare quality and safety across hospitals. We determined how well it identifies true cases of postoperative wound dehiscence by examining its positive predictive value (PPV). STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cross-sectional study of hospitalization records that met PSI 14 criteria was conducted within the Veterans Health Administration hospitals from fiscal years 2003 to 2007. Trained abstractors used standardized abstraction instruments to review electronic medical records. We determined the PPV of the indicator and performed descriptive analyses of cases. RESULTS: Of the 112 reviewed cases, 97 were true events of postoperative wound dehiscence, yielding a PPV of 87% (95% CI 79% to 92%). Sixty-one percent (n = 59) of true positive cases had at least 1 risk factor, such as low albumin level, COPD, or superficial wound infection. False positives were due to coding errors, such as cases in which the patient's abdomen was intentionally left open during the index procedure. CONCLUSIONS: PSI 14 has relatively good predictive ability to identify true cases of postoperative wound dehiscence. It has the highest PPV among all PSIs evaluated within the Veterans Health Administration system. Inaccurate coding was the reason for false positives. Providing additional training to medical coders could potentially improve the PPV of this indicator. At present, this PSI is a promising measure for both quality improvement and performance measurement; however, its use in pay-for-performance efforts seems premature. Copyright Copyright 2011 American College of Surgeons. All rights reserved
M Cevasco, AM Borzecki, DA McClusky, Q Chen, MH Shin, KM Itani, AK Rosen, Marisa Cevasco, Ann Borzecki, David McClusky, Qi Chen, Marlena Shin, Kamal Itani, Amy Rosen
Discontinuity of coverage for Medicaid and S-CHIP children at a transitional birthday.
Medicaid News, Syndicated
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Aug 222011
Health services research, Vol. 42, No. 6 Pt 2. (December 2007), pp. 2410-2423.
Turnover at transitional birthdays identifies a common pathway for children into the ranks of the uninsured. Facilitating continuous enrollment would retain in the programs children with lower than average expenditures. This may be one of the more cost effective ways of reducing the number of uninsured children in Georgia.
Patricia Ketsche, Kathleen Adams, Angela Snyder, Mei Zhou, Karen Minyard, Rebecca Kellenberg
Turnover at transitional birthdays identifies a common pathway for children into the ranks of the uninsured. Facilitating continuous enrollment would retain in the programs children with lower than average expenditures. This may be one of the more cost effective ways of reducing the number of uninsured children in Georgia.
Patricia Ketsche, Kathleen Adams, Angela Snyder, Mei Zhou, Karen Minyard, Rebecca Kellenberg
Comparison of pediatric hospitalization using the pediatric appropriateness evaluation protocol at three diverse hospitals in Louisiana
Medicaid News, Syndicated
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Aug 122011
Vol. 150, No. 5. (May 1998), pp. 211-217.
The purpose of this study was to compare the number of inappropriate pediatric admissions and hospital days in three hospitals in Louisiana using Pediatric Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (PAEP) criteria. The hospitals studied included an urban, nontertiary care, teaching hospital with 20 inpatient, pediatric beds (A); a private, tertiary care hospital with 30 beds (B); and a tertiary care, regional referral center with 133 pediatric beds (C). The study prospectively observed all nonintensive care pediatric admissions (> six months of age) between May 1 and June 30, 1993. Admissions and subsequent hospital days were labeled as appropriate or inappropriate based on PAEP criteria. A significantly shorter hospital stay (days) was demonstrated at hospital C (4.41 +/- 1.01, p < .05) compared to A (5.98 +/- 4.95) or B (5.78 +/- 1.21). Similarly, hospital B had significantly more patients admitted electively (19%, p < .05) compared to A (4%) or C (15%). The percentage of inappropriate admissions for hospitals A, B, and C were 11.0, 10.0, and 2.0 (p < .05) and hospital days 18.0, 22.0, and 12.0 (p < .05), respectively. A significant proportion of inappropriate hospital days came from trauma admissions in hospital A (18%, p < .05) and elective admissions in hospital B (36%, p < .05). Hospital A had 99% of patients with either Medicaid or uninsured payor status compared to 35% and 84% at hospital B and C, respectively. Significant differences in the rate of inappropriate admission or subsequent hospital days were demonstrated in the three hospitals studied. Finally, the rates of inappropriate hospitalization demonstrated in this study of Louisiana hospitals were similar to previous studies using the PAEP in other regions
R Waldrop, GQ Peck, S Hutchinson, Z Randall
The purpose of this study was to compare the number of inappropriate pediatric admissions and hospital days in three hospitals in Louisiana using Pediatric Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (PAEP) criteria. The hospitals studied included an urban, nontertiary care, teaching hospital with 20 inpatient, pediatric beds (A); a private, tertiary care hospital with 30 beds (B); and a tertiary care, regional referral center with 133 pediatric beds (C). The study prospectively observed all nonintensive care pediatric admissions (> six months of age) between May 1 and June 30, 1993. Admissions and subsequent hospital days were labeled as appropriate or inappropriate based on PAEP criteria. A significantly shorter hospital stay (days) was demonstrated at hospital C (4.41 +/- 1.01, p < .05) compared to A (5.98 +/- 4.95) or B (5.78 +/- 1.21). Similarly, hospital B had significantly more patients admitted electively (19%, p < .05) compared to A (4%) or C (15%). The percentage of inappropriate admissions for hospitals A, B, and C were 11.0, 10.0, and 2.0 (p < .05) and hospital days 18.0, 22.0, and 12.0 (p < .05), respectively. A significant proportion of inappropriate hospital days came from trauma admissions in hospital A (18%, p < .05) and elective admissions in hospital B (36%, p < .05). Hospital A had 99% of patients with either Medicaid or uninsured payor status compared to 35% and 84% at hospital B and C, respectively. Significant differences in the rate of inappropriate admission or subsequent hospital days were demonstrated in the three hospitals studied. Finally, the rates of inappropriate hospitalization demonstrated in this study of Louisiana hospitals were similar to previous studies using the PAEP in other regions
R Waldrop, GQ Peck, S Hutchinson, Z Randall
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