Source
Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
http://www.chcs.org/
Case Example
December 2016
This resource describes an analysis of a Massachusetts-based MIH-CP program called Acute Community Care (ACC), a pilot program of the Commonwealth Care Alliance. It assesses the business case for expansion to other geographic areas.
- MIH-CP programs expand the role of emergency medical services personnel. In such programs, paramedics provide outpatient urgent and primary care–like services for patients who might otherwise visit an emergency department (ED).
- Under the pilot program, patients diverted from the ED had lower average costs than those not diverted on a patient-episode basis (per patient savings were $791 for a seven-day period, $3,677 for a 15-day period, and $538 for a 30-day period).
- To assess MIH-CP programs, an appropriate time frame is crucial; achieving net savings in less than 12 months may be unrealistic.
- Modifications of various attributes could yield different financial outcomes for other programs. For example, a 10 percent increase in patient volume would increase savings by 18 percent, and a 2.5 percent increase in the average ED diversion rate would increase savings by 5 percent.
- Estimating savings depends on reimbursement structure. Commonwealth Care Alliance is an integrated delivery system and able to retain all ACC program savings. MIH-CP programs that depend on reimbursement from other stakeholders may have a more complex equation.
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