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Federal Watch

August 17th, 2012

AGS is tracking developments of interest to geriatrics health professionals in order to provide weekly updates for our readers via our List Serv, americangeriatrics.org, our Facebook page, and our Twitter feed. This week, we share news on an upcoming CMS input forum on ACO educational opportunities, share  news of three new Independence at Home recipients, as well as timely articles about the state of excess readmissions in hospitals across the country, as well as the ongoing challenge which the baby bombers face in regards to home care. We also remind you about a CER-related funding opportunity through the NIA. Finally, we encourage you to take action by contacting your legislators, and urging them to fully address and put an end to the flawed SGR formula. 

Upcoming Open Door Forum: Seeking Input on ACO Educational Opportunities
The Center for Medicare and & Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center) is seeking input from interested stakeholders and the public on how educational opportunities for providers interested in participating in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) or other coordinated care initiatives could be designed. An Open Door Forum on this topic has been scheduled for Monday, August 27. The ACA requires the Innovation Center to consult with clinical and analytical experts with expertise in medicine and health care management and other interested parties when developing payment and service delivery models for testing. As a growing number of organizations are participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program or ACO arrangements in the private sector, the Innovation Center is seeking input on educational opportunities for providers who are interested in learning more about ACOs. Below you may find more information: 

Phone Number: (866) 501-5502 / Conference ID: 1602701 

New Independence at Home Demonstration Participants Announced
CMS recently announced three consortia of practices participating in the Independence at Home Demonstration. Through the Independence at Home Demonstration, CMS is partnering with health care providers to test the effectiveness of providing chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries with primary care services in the home. In April, CMS announced the names of individual practices selected to participate in the Demonstration. CMS also allowed multiple practices to apply to participate in the demonstration as a consortium rather than as individual practices. Of particular interest to AGS, Innovative Primary Senior Care LLC of Skokie, Illinois is one of three consortia most recently selected to participate. To learn more about the Independence at Home Demonstration, visit: http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Independence-at-Home. 

Baby Boomers Face Home Care Challenge
As baby boomers age, the U.S. will face a challenge trying to fill more than 1 million new home care positions to meet their needs, The Associated Press reports. In the meantime, Medicare is adding more groups to a pilot program aimed at lowering costs for Medicare beneficiaries by providing them with home-based care.  For more on this topic, please visit here. 

Medicare Penalizes Over 2,000 Hospitals Across the Nation for Excess Readmissions
Beginning this October, more than 2,000 hospitals — including some nationally recognized ones — will be penalized by the government because many of their patients are readmitted soon after discharge, new records show. Together, these hospitals will forfeit about $280 million in Medicare funds over the next year as the government begins a wide-ranging push to start paying health care providers based on the quality of care they provide. According to Kaiser Health news, nearly one in five Medicare patients return to the hospital within one month of discharge. CMS considers readmissions a prime symptom of an overly expensive and uncoordinated health system. Hospitals have had little financial incentive to ensure patients get the care they need once they leave, and in fact they benefit financially when patients don’t recover and return for more treatment. The penalties, authorized by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, are part of an effort by Medicare to use its financial muscle to force improvements in hospital quality. The penalties will fall heaviest on hospitals in New Jersey, New York, the District of Columbia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Illinois and Massachusetts.  Hospitals that treat the most low-income patients will be hit particularly hard.  Fore more information, please visit here.

REMINDERS: 

The National Institute on Aging Invites Applicants to Help Continue CER Research
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has announced a new grant opportunity titled “Secondary Analyses of Comparative Effectiveness, Health Outcomes and Costs in Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions (R21”). This federal grant is the next step in NIA’s continued work to advance the research agenda for multiple chronic conditions.  For information on the new grant, you may visit: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AG-13-003.html. The application deadline is October 11, 2013.  Any questions can go to: 

Marcel Salive, MD, MPH
Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology
Phone: 301-496-6761
Email: marcel.salive@nih.gov 

What AGS Did This Week
The AGS has been hard at work developing comments and feedback to submit to CMS on the Proposed Physician Fee Schedule for CY 2013.  We are currently developing recommendations and extensive comments on specific proposals contained in the proposed rule. Final comments are due on September 4, 2012, and we will be sure to share our letter upon submission.

How You Can Help
AGS encourages you to Take Action by visiting AGS’ Health in Aging Advocacy Center. Contact your members of Congress today, and urge them to call for both the repeal of the SGR and comprehensive Medicare payment and delivery reform.  Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Susie Sherman, Senior Coordinator of Public Affairs & Advocacy, ssherman@americangeriatrics.org. 

Modified On: August 17th, 2012