CMS Conference Call on the new ‘Bundled Payments for Care Improvement’ Initiative [Re-play]

August 23rd, 2011 – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation today announced the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative to help improve care for patients while they are in the hospital and after they are discharged.

Doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers can now apply to participate in this new program that will align payments for services delivered across an episode of care, such as heart bypass or hip replacement, rather than paying for services separately.  Bundled payments will give doctors and hospitals new incentives to coordinate care, improve the quality of care and save money for Medicare.

To learn more, join a conference call TODAY with CMS Innovation Center Director, Dr. Richard Gilfillan, Director of the Patient Care Models Group, Valinda Rutledge and Senior Advisor Dr. Nancy Nielsen.

What:  Conference Call on the new Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative

When: Tuesday, August 23rd at 3:30pm Eastern/12:30 PM Pacific

Call Information :  (800) 642.1687, Conference ID: 94307536

Background on the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative

This initiative will bundle care for a package of services patients receive to treat a specific medical condition during a single hospital stay and/or recovery from that stay – this is known as an episode of care.  By bundling payment across providers for multiple services, providers will have a greater incentive to coordinate and ensure continuity of care across settings, resulting in better care for patients.  Better coordinated care can reduce unnecessary duplication of services, reduce preventable medical errors, help patients heal without harm, and lower costs.

Released today, the Innovation Center’s Request for Applications (RFA) outlines four broad approaches to bundled payments.  Providers will have flexibility to determine which episodes of care and which services will be bundled together.  By giving providers the flexibility to determine which model of bundled payments works best for them, it will be easier for providers of different sizes and readiness to participate in this initiative.

The Bundled Payments initiative is based on research and previous demonstration projects that suggest this approach has tremendous potential. For example, a Medicare heart bypass surgery bundled payment demonstration saved the program $42.3 million, or roughly 10 percent of expected costs, and saved patients $7.9 million in coinsurance while improving care and lowering hospital mortality.

Organizations interested in applying to the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) no later than September 22, 2011 for Model 1 and November 4, 2011 for Models 2, 3, and 4. For more information about the various models and the initiative itself, please see the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative web site at:

http://www.innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/patient-care-models/bundled-payments-for-care-improvement.html.

Interested parties may obtain answers to specific questions by e-mailing CMS at: BundledPayments@cms.hhs.gov.

For more information about this initiative or the CMS Innovation Center, please visit: http://www.innovations.cms.gov.