“Bundles cut spending on joint replacements, but not for other conditions,” by Harris Mayer, Modern Healthcare     Quote: “Medicare’s voluntary bundled-payment program for hip and knee replacements reduced spending by 1.6% from 2013 to 2016 — less than previously estimated — with no overall change in quality, according to a new study in Health Affairs. Another new Health Affairs study reported that lower extremity joint replacement is the only type of clinical episode in Medicare bundled-payment programs that has produced savings so far. The meta-analysis found no evidence of reduced spending or quality improvement for other clinical episodes.” LTC Comment (from
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“How Much Do Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Out of Pocket on Health Care?,” by Juliette Cubanski  Wyatt Koma, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, KFF Issue Brief     Quote: “The oldest beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, people ages 85 and older, spent more than twice as much out of pocket as beneficiaries between the ages of 65 and 74 ($10,307 versus $5,021). This difference was primarily due to significantly higher spending on long-term care facility services among beneficiaries in the oldest age group. … In 2016, people with traditional Medicare spent an average of $5,460 out of pocket for health care expenses, including premiums, cost
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“The Health Care Promises We Cannot Keep,” by Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News     Quote: “For family caregivers, this is a common, anxiety-provoking dilemma. They’ll promise Mom or Dad that they can stay at home through the end of their lives and never go to assisted living or a nursing home. Or they’ll commit to taking care of a spouse’s needs and not bringing paid help into the home. Or they’ll vow to pursue every possible medical intervention in a medical crisis. Eventually, though, the unforeseen will arise ― after a devastating stroke or a heart attack, for instance,
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