Three Strategies to Reduce PAC Spending
Summary
Nowhere are there more opportunities for savings than in post-acute care (PAC) settings.
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Per capita service use ranges from $60 to $450 for PAC, compared to $225 to $425 for ambulatory care and $250 to $400 for acute inpatient care. These differences mean that PAC providers have many opportunities to drive greater efficiencies, a fact not lost on the Medicare program.
Avalere best practices analysis identifies three opportunities to reduce PAC spending:
Hospitals should discharge patients to the lowest cost setting that has demonstrated high quality services and effective outcomes.
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- Spending across an episode of care for the same MS-DRG varies significantly based on the first site of discharge.
Institutional setting length of stays should be as short as possible.
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- Significant savings opportunities arise when patients discharged to institutional settings have been transitioned home quickly and safely.
Providers managing risk should reduce unnecessary readmissions.
- The average national 30-day re-hospitalization rate from SNFs in 2011 was 20 percent (Avalere Vantage Care Positioning System™ report)
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