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BACKGROUND: Some hospitals seek integration with skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to reduce readmissions while others focus more on patients discharged home. PURPOSE: Our objective was to understand different approaches for readmission reduction for patients discharged to SNFs based on contrasting strategies from 2 competing hospital systems. METHODS: Employing a case study methodology, we compared 1 hospital system that integrated with SNFs to a competing system that did not. We compared interview data from clinical and administrative staff and publicly reported rehospitalization rate changes from the 2 systems. RESULTS: Analysis of integrating hospital system interviews noted providing patients detailed discharge information and educating SNF staff regarding care protocols. Integrated hospital system all-cause readmission rates declined by nearly 1 percentage point more than the nonintegrated hospital system (coefficient, -0.008; 95% confidence interval, -0.003 to -0.012) between 2014 and 2017. CONCLUSION: As hospitals explore care transition improvements to SNFs, developing more embedded relationships highlights one approach to improve value.

Objective: We explored post-Affordable Care Act hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) perspectives in discharge and admission practices. Method: Interviews were conducted with 138 administrative personnel in 16 hospitals and 25 SNFs in eight U.S. markets and qualitatively analyzed. Results: Hospitals may use prior referral rates and patients' geographic proximity to SNFs to guide discharges. SNFs with higher hospital referral rates often use licensed nurses to screen patients to admit more preferred patients. While SNFs with lower hospital referral rates use marketing strategies to increase admissions, these patients are often less preferred due to lower reimbursement or complex care needs. Conclusion: An unintended consequence of increased hospital-SNF integration may be greater disparity. SNFs with high hospital referral rates may admit well-reimbursed or less medically complex patients than SNFs with lower referral rates. Without policy remediation, SNFs with lower referral rates may thus care for more medically complex long-term care patients.

Objective This research aimed to understand the experiences of patients transitioning from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) by eliciting views from patients and hospital and skilled nursing facility staff. Design We conducted semi-structured interviews with hospital and skilled nursing facility staff and skilled nursing facility patients and their family members in an attempt to understand transitions between hospital and SNF. These interviews focused on all aspects of the discharge planning and nursing facility placement processes including who is involved, how decisions are made, patients' experiences, hospital-SNF communication, and the presence of programs to improve the transition process. Participants Participants were 138 staff in 16 hospitals and 25 SNFs in 8 markets across the country, and 98 newly admitted, previously community-dwelling SNF patients and/or their family members in five of those markets. Approach Interviews were qualitatively analyzed to identify overarching themes. Key Results Patients reported they felt rushed in making their SNF decisions, did not feel they were appropriately prepared for the hospital-SNF transition or educated about their post-acute needs, and experienced transitions that felt chaotic, with complications they associated with timing and medications. Hospital and SNF staff expressed similar opinions, stating that transitions were rushed, there were problems with the timing of the discharge, with information transfer and medication reconciliation, and that patients were not appropriately prepared for the transition. Staff at some facilities reported programs designed to address these problems, but the efficacy of these programs is unknown. Conclusions Results indicate problematic transitions stemming from insufficient care coordination and failure to appropriately prepare patients and their family members. Previous research suggests that problematic or hurried transitions from hospital to SNF are associated wi

OBJECTIVES: Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have strong incentives to control costs, including postacute spending; however, to our knowledge, no research has examined the methods that MA plans use to control or reduce postacute costs. This study aimed to understand such MA plan efforts and the possible unintended consequences. STUDY DESIGN: A multiple case study method was used. METHODS: We conducted 154 interviews with administrative and clinical staff working in 10 MA plans, 16 hospitals, and 25 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in 8 geographically diverse markets across the United States. RESULTS: Participants discussed how MA plans attempted to reduce postacute care spending by controlling the SNF to which patients are discharged and SNF length of stay (LOS). Plans typically influenced SNF selection by providing patients with a list of facilities in which their care would be covered. To influence LOS, MA plans most commonly authorized patient stays in SNFs for a certain number of days and required that SNFs adhere to this limitation, but they did not provide guidance or assistance in ensuring that the LOS goals were met. Hospital and SNF responses to the largely authorization-based system were frequently negative, and participants expressed concerns about potential unintended consequences. CONCLUSIONS: In their interactions with hospitals and SNFs, MA plans attempted to influence the choice of SNF and LOS to control postacute spending. However, exerting too much influence over hospitals and SNFs, as these results seem to indicate, may have the negative consequences of delayed hospital discharge and SNFs' avoidance of burdensome plans.

Length of stay (LOS) among postacute care patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been steadily decreasing for the past several years. Empirical studies on overall SNF LOS are scant because most studies focus on LOS for certain conditions or procedures (e.g., Haghverdian, Wright, and Schwarzkopf 2017). However, analysis of LOS data available at Brown University's LTCFocus website (www.ltcfocus.org) illustrates that SNF LOS has been dropping in recent years. These reductions have been due, in part, to Medicare policy changes and market based pressures, including the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and bundled payment and shared savings programs, as well as the growth of Medicare Advantage. However, little is known about how shorter LOS is affecting SNFs or their postacute care patients. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included several programs to improve care quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs through value‐based payment models. In these programs, participating providers, including doctors, hospitals, and other health care organizations, join together voluntarily to provide coordinated care to their Medicare patients. These groups are reimbursed for episodes of care, payments are capitated and risk‐adjusted, and participating organizations share savings they achieve from their Medicare population (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2017). Because over 20% of Medicare patients who are hospitalized each year are discharged to postacute care (PAC; Tian 2016), many of the patients covered by these programs are cared for in SNFs. However, research has shown that a minority of ACOs, for example, actually include SNFs as full participants (Colla et al. 2016). This means that ACOs are relying on SNFs to provide better care at lower costs without including those SNFs in the shared savings or through contractual or other formal relationships. In the last several years, there has also been extraordinary growth in

Length of stay (LOS) among postacute care patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been steadily decreasing for the past several years. Empirical studies on overall SNF LOS are scant because most studies focus on LOS for certain conditions or procedures (e.g., Haghverdian, Wright, and Schwarzkopf 2017). However, analysis of LOS data available at Brown University's LTCFocus website (www.ltcfocus.org) illustrates that SNF LOS has been dropping in recent years. These reductions have been due, in part, to Medicare policy changes and market based pressures, including the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and bundled payment and shared savings programs, as well as the growth of Medicare Advantage. However, little is known about how shorter LOS is affecting SNFs or their postacute care patients. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included several programs to improve care quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs through value‐based payment models. In these programs, participating providers, including doctors, hospitals, and other health care organizations, join together voluntarily to provide coordinated care to their Medicare patients. These groups are reimbursed for episodes of care, payments are capitated and risk‐adjusted, and participating organizations share savings they achieve from their Medicare population (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2017). Because over 20% of Medicare patients who are hospitalized each year are discharged to postacute care (PAC; Tian 2016), many of the patients covered by these programs are cared for in SNFs. However, research has shown that a minority of ACOs, for example, actually include SNFs as full participants (Colla et al. 2016). This means that ACOs are relying on SNFs to provide better care at lower costs without including those SNFs in the shared savings or through contractual or other formal relationships. In the last several years, there has also been extraordinary growth in

Length of stay (LOS) among postacute care patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been steadily decreasing for the past several years. Empirical studies on overall SNF LOS are scant because most studies focus on LOS for certain conditions or procedures (e.g., Haghverdian, Wright, and Schwarzkopf 2017). However, analysis of LOS data available at Brown University's LTCFocus website (www.ltcfocus.org) illustrates that SNF LOS has been dropping in recent years. These reductions have been due, in part, to Medicare policy changes and market based pressures, including the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and bundled payment and shared savings programs, as well as the growth of Medicare Advantage. However, little is known about how shorter LOS is affecting SNFs or their postacute care patients. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included several programs to improve care quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs through value‐based payment models. In these programs, participating providers, including doctors, hospitals, and other health care organizations, join together voluntarily to provide coordinated care to their Medicare patients. These groups are reimbursed for episodes of care, payments are capitated and risk‐adjusted, and participating organizations share savings they achieve from their Medicare population (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2017). Because over 20% of Medicare patients who are hospitalized each year are discharged to postacute care (PAC; Tian 2016), many of the patients covered by these programs are cared for in SNFs. However, research has shown that a minority of ACOs, for example, actually include SNFs as full participants (Colla et al. 2016). This means that ACOs are relying on SNFs to provide better care at lower costs without including those SNFs in the shared savings or through contractual or other formal relationships. In the last several years, there has also been extraordinary growth in

Length of stay (LOS) among postacute care patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been steadily decreasing for the past several years. Empirical studies on overall SNF LOS are scant because most studies focus on LOS for certain conditions or procedures (e.g., Haghverdian, Wright, and Schwarzkopf 2017). However, analysis of LOS data available at Brown University's LTCFocus website (www.ltcfocus.org) illustrates that SNF LOS has been dropping in recent years. These reductions have been due, in part, to Medicare policy changes and market based pressures, including the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and bundled payment and shared savings programs, as well as the growth of Medicare Advantage. However, little is known about how shorter LOS is affecting SNFs or their postacute care patients. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included several programs to improve care quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs through value‐based payment models. In these programs, participating providers, including doctors, hospitals, and other health care organizations, join together voluntarily to provide coordinated care to their Medicare patients. These groups are reimbursed for episodes of care, payments are capitated and risk‐adjusted, and participating organizations share savings they achieve from their Medicare population (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2017). Because over 20% of Medicare patients who are hospitalized each year are discharged to postacute care (PAC; Tian 2016), many of the patients covered by these programs are cared for in SNFs. However, research has shown that a minority of ACOs, for example, actually include SNFs as full participants (Colla et al. 2016). This means that ACOs are relying on SNFs to provide better care at lower costs without including those SNFs in the shared savings or through contractual or other formal relationships. In the last several years, there has also been extraordinary growth in

Length of stay (LOS) among postacute care patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has been steadily decreasing for the past several years. Empirical studies on overall SNF LOS are scant because most studies focus on LOS for certain conditions or procedures (e.g., Haghverdian, Wright, and Schwarzkopf 2017). However, analysis of LOS data available at Brown University's LTCFocus website (www.ltcfocus.org) illustrates that SNF LOS has been dropping in recent years. These reductions have been due, in part, to Medicare policy changes and market based pressures, including the emergence of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and bundled payment and shared savings programs, as well as the growth of Medicare Advantage. However, little is known about how shorter LOS is affecting SNFs or their postacute care patients. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included several programs to improve care quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs through value‐based payment models. In these programs, participating providers, including doctors, hospitals, and other health care organizations, join together voluntarily to provide coordinated care to their Medicare patients. These groups are reimbursed for episodes of care, payments are capitated and risk‐adjusted, and participating organizations share savings they achieve from their Medicare population (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2017). Because over 20% of Medicare patients who are hospitalized each year are discharged to postacute care (PAC; Tian 2016), many of the patients covered by these programs are cared for in SNFs. However, research has shown that a minority of ACOs, for example, actually include SNFs as full participants (Colla et al. 2016). This means that ACOs are relying on SNFs to provide better care at lower costs without including those SNFs in the shared savings or through contractual or other formal relationships. In the last several years, there has also been extraordinary growth in

Hospitals are now being held at least partly accountable for Medicare patients' care after discharge, as a result of regulations and incentives imposed by the Affordable Care Act. However, little is known about how patients select a postacute care facility. We used a multiple case study approach to explore both how patients requiring postacute care decide which skilled nursing facility to select and the role of hospital staff members in this decision. We interviewed 138 staff members of sixteen hospitals and twenty-five skilled nursing facilities and 98 patients in fourteen of the skilled nursing facilities. Most patients described receiving only lists of skilled nursing facilities from hospital staff members, while staff members reported not sharing data about facilities' quality with patients because they believed that patient choice regulations precluded them from doing so. Consequently, patients' choices were rarely based on readily available quality data. Proposed changes to the Medicare conditions of participation for hospitals that pertain to discharge planning could rectify this problem. In addition, less strict interpretations of choice requirements would give hospitals flexibility in the discharge planning process and allow them to refer patients to higher-quality facilities.