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To coordinate Medicare and Medicaid benefits, multiple states are creating opportunities for dual-eligible beneficiaries to join Medicare Advantage Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and Medicaid plans operated by the same insurer. Tennessee implemented this approach by requiring insurers who offered Medicaid plans to also offer a D-SNP by 2015. Tennessee’s aligned D-SNP participation increased from 7% to 24% of dual-eligible beneficiaries aged 65 years and above between 2011 and 2017. Within a county, a 10-percentage-point increase in aligned D-SNP participation was associated with 0.3 fewer inpatient admissions ( p = .048), 13.9 fewer prescription drugs per month ( p = .048), and 0.3 fewer nursing home users ( p = .06) per 100 dual-eligible beneficiaries aged 65 years and older. Increased aligned plan participation was associated with 0.2 more inpatient admissions ( p = .004) per 100 dual-eligible beneficiaries younger than 65 years. For some dual-eligible beneficiaries, increasing Medicare and Medicaid managed plan alignment has the potential to promote more efficient service use.

BACKGROUND: Chronic ventilator use in Tennessee nursing homes surged following 2010 increases in respiratory care payment rates. Tennessee’s Medicaid program implemented multiple policies between 2014 and 2017 to promote ventilator liberation in 11 nursing homes, including quality reporting, on-site monitoring, and pay-for-performance incentives. METHODS: Using repeated cross-sectional analysis of Medicare and Medicaid nursing home claims (2011–2017), hospital discharge records (2010–2017), and nursing home quality reports (2015–2017), we examined how service use changed as Tennessee implemented policies designed to promote ventilator liberation in nursing homes. We measured annual number of nursing home patients with ventilator-related service use; discharge destination of ventilated inpatients and percent of nursing home patients liberated from ventilators. RESULTS: Between 2011 and 2014, the number of Medicare SNF and Medicaid nursing home patients with ventilator use increased more than six-fold. Among inpatients with prolonged mechanical ventilation, discharges to home decreased as discharges to nursing homes increased. As Tennessee implemented policy changes, ventilator-related service use moderately declined in nursing homes from a peak of 198 ventilated Medicare SNF patients in 2014 to 125 in 2017 and from 182 Medicaid patients with chronic ventilator use in 2014 to 145 patients in 2017. Nursing home weaning rates peaked at 49–52% in 2015 and 2016, but declined to 26% by late 2017. Median number of days from admission to wean declined from 81 to 37 days. CONCLUSIONS: This value-based approach demonstrates the importance of designing payment models that target key patient outcomes like ventilator liberation.

The number of people living with dementia (PLWD) is expected to grow considerably in the coming years. PLWD often have substantial medical and supportive service needs and face fragmentation of services across payers and across health and social service systems; recently, efforts have been made to achieve greater integration of care and financing. This article considers issues related to integrating long-term services and supports (LTSS), medical care, and financing for PLWD; reviews the policy context and key clinical and delivery system challenges to these efforts; and describes key lessons regarding integration learned from examples in the field. Recommendations are provided and include the following: (1) assess carefully whether integration of medical and LTSS is required to achieve the intended outcomes of an intervention or program targeted at PLWD; if integration is needed, select carefully the types of medical and LTSS to integrate and the mode of integration; (2) use measures that evaluate quality across LTSS settings in which PLWD receive care; (3) assess whether and how eligibility and payment policies pose barriers to PLWD from receiving services they need, and evaluate ways in which policies might be reformed to meet beneficiaries’ needs; and (4) conduct research examining the potential of value-based payment efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of care received by PLWD, including their potential impact on out-of-pocket expenses and caregiving burden for PLWD and their families.

Dual-eligible beneficiaries with Medicare and Medicaid coverage generally have greater utilization and spending levels than Medicare-only beneficiaries on postacute services, raising questions about how strategies to curb postacute spending will affect dual-eligible beneficiaries. We compared trends in postacute spending and use related to inpatient episodes at a population and episode level for dual-eligible and Medicare-only beneficiaries over the years 2009–2017. Although dual-eligible beneficiaries had consistently higher inpatient and postacute service use and spending than Medicare-only populations, both populations experienced similar declines in inpatient and postacute measures over time. Conditional on having an inpatient stay, most types of postacute service use increased regardless of dual-eligible status. These consistent patterns in episode-related postacute spending for Medicare-only and dual-eligible beneficiaries—decreased episode-related spending and use on a per beneficiary basis and increased use and spending on a per episode basis—suggest that changing patterns of care affect both populations.

Many individuals receiving post-acute and long-term care services in nursing homes have unmet palliative and end-of-life care needs. Hospice has been the predominant approach to meeting these needs, although hospice services generally are available only to long-term care residents with a limited prognosis who choose to forego disease-modifying or curative therapies. Two additional approaches to meeting these needs are the provision of palliative care consultation through community- or hospital-based programs and facility-based palliative care services. However, access to this specialized care is limited, services are not clearly defined, and the empirical evidence of these approaches' effectiveness is inadequate. In this article, we review the existing evidence and challenges with each of these 3 approaches. We then describe a model for effective delivery of palliative and end-of-life care in nursing homes, one in which palliative and end-of-life care are seen as integral to high-quality nursing home care. To achieve this vision, we make 4 recommendations: (1) promote internal palliative and end-of-life care capacity through comprehensive training and support; (2) ensure that state and federal payment policies and regulations do not create barriers to delivering high-quality, person-centered palliative and end-of-life care; (3) align nursing home quality measures to include palliative and end-of-life care-sensitive indicators; and (4) support access to and integration of external palliative care services. These recommendations will require changes in the organization, delivery, and reimbursement of care. All nursing homes should provide high-quality palliative and end-of-life care, and this article describes some key strategies to make this goal a reality.

Staffing is an important quality measure that is included on the federal Nursing Home Compare website. New payroll-based data reveal large daily staffing fluctuations, low weekend staffing, and daily staffing levels often below the expectations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These data provide a more accurate and complete staffing picture for CMS and consumers.

BACKGROUND Standardization in production is common in multientity chain organizations. Although chains are prominent in the nursing home sector, standardization in care has not been studied. One way nursing home chains may standardize is by controlling the level and mix of staffing in member homes. OBJECTIVES To examine the extent to which standardization occurred in staffing, its relative presence across different types of chains, and whether facilities became more standardized following acquisition by a chain. RESEARCH DESIGN We estimated predictors of the difference between facility and chain staffing using Generalized Estimating Equations with 2000-2010 data. SUBJECTS This study included nursing homes nationally, excluding hospital-based homes and homes in Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. MEASURES Chain ownership was coded from text identifying chain names. Two nurse staffing measures were used: staff hours per resident day and staff mix. RESULTS Very large for-profit chain nursing homes and large nonprofits had less variation in staff hours per resident day (P

This case series examines the increase in acquisitions of hospice agencies by private equity firms and publicly traded corporations from 2011 to 2019.

Background/objectives Regulatory oversight has been a central strategy to assure nursing home quality of care for decades. In response to COVID-19, traditional elements of oversight that relate to resident care have been curtailed in favor of implementing limited infection control surveys and targeted complaint investigations. We seek to describe the state of nursing home oversight during the pandemic to facilitate a discussion of whether and how these activities should be altered going forward. Design and setting In a retrospective study, we describe national oversight activities in January-June 2020 and compare these activities to the same time period from 2019. We also examine state-level oversight activities during the peak months of the pandemic. Participants United States nursing homes. Data Publicly available Quality, Certification, and Oversight Reports (QCOR) data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Measurements Number of standard, complaint, and onsite infection surveys, number of deficiencies from standard and complaint surveys, number of citations by deficiency tag, and number and amount of civil monetary penalties. Results The number of standard and complaint surveys declined considerably in the second quarter of 2020 relative to the same time frame in 2019. Deficiency citations generally decreased to near zero by April 2020 with the exception of infection prevention and control deficiencies and citations for failure to report COVID-19 data to the national health safety network. Related enforcement actions were down considerably in 2020, relative to 2019. Conclusion In the months since COVID-19 first impacted nursing homes, regulatory oversight efforts have fallen off considerably. While CMS implemented universal infection control surveys and targeted complaint investigations, other routine aspects of oversight dropped in light of justifiable limits on nursing home entry. Going forward, we must develop policies that allow regulators to balance the demands of the pandemic while fulfilling their responsibilities effectively.

Objectives Determining appropriate capitated payments has important access implications for dual-eligible Medicare Advantage (MA) members. In 2017, MA plans began receiving higher capitated payments for beneficiaries with full vs partial Medicaid when payments started being risk adjusted for level of Medicaid benefits instead of any Medicaid participation. This approach could favor MA plans in states with more generous Medicaid programs where more beneficiaries qualify for full Medicaid and thus a higher capitated payment. To understand this issue, we examined adjusted Medicare spending for dual-eligible beneficiaries across states with differing Medicaid eligibility criteria. Study design Retrospective analysis of 2007-2015 traditional Medicare data for dual-eligible beneficiaries 65 years and older. Methods We compared predicted per-beneficiary spending levels after adjusting for any Medicaid participation and for level of Medicaid benefits across states with varying Medicaid eligibility requirements. Results States with the most generous Medicaid requirements had more dual-eligible beneficiaries with full Medicaid compared with the most restrictive states (median, 82% vs 55%). Nationally, Medicare spending levels were 1.3 times greater for full vs partial Medicaid participants (range across states, 0.8-1.7). When per-beneficiary spending was adjusted for level of Medicaid benefits, rather than any Medicaid participation, states with more generous Medicaid eligibility had larger gains in predicted spending per dual-eligible beneficiary than states with less generous Medicaid coverage (1.7% vs 1.3% increase). Conclusions Distinguishing between partial and full Medicaid in MA payments may disproportionately increase MA payments in states that have more full Medicaid beneficiaries due to more generous Medicaid eligibility.

End-of-life care is often overly aggressive and inconsistent with patients' preferences. Although end-of-life care could therefore be a natural target for accountable care organizations (ACOs) in their efforts to reduce spending, identifying and curbing wasteful care for patients at high risk of death may be challenging. To date, the impact of ACOs on end-of-life care has not been quantified. Using fee-for-service Medicare claims through 2015 and a difference-in-differences approach, we found evidence of some changes in end-of-life care associated with providers' participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program among both decedents and patients at high risk of death. Although generally suggestive of less aggressive care, most effects were small and inconsistent across cohorts of ACOs entering the program in different years. This suggests that ACOs have not yet substantially altered end-of-life care patterns and that additional incentives, time, or both may be needed. Alternatively, curbing wasteful end-of-life care might not be a viable source of substantial savings under population-based payment models.

Objectives To analyze the sources of per-beneficiary Medicare spending growth between 2007 and 2014, including the role of demographic characteristics, attributes of Medicare coverage, and chronic conditions. Data Sources Individual-level Medicare spending and enrollment data. Study Design Using an Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition model, we analyzed whether changes in price-standardized, per-beneficiary Medicare Part A and B spending reflected changes in the composition of the Medicare population or changes in relative spending levels per person. Data Extraction Methods We identified a 5 percent sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and above from years 2007 to 2014. Results Mean payment-adjusted Medicare per-beneficiary spending decreased by $180 between the 2007–2010 and 2011–2014 time periods. This decline was almost entirely attributable to lower spending levels for beneficiaries. Notably, declines in marginal spending levels for beneficiaries with chronic conditions were associated with a $175 reduction in per-beneficiary spending. The decline was partially offset by the increasing prevalence of certain chronic diseases. Still, we are unable to attribute a large share of the decline in spending levels to observable beneficiary characteristics or chronic conditions. Conclusions Declines in spending levels for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions suggest that changing patterns of care use may be moderating spending growth.

Consistently accounting for more than 50% of the nursing homes in the United States, corporate chains have played an important role in the industry for several decades. However, few studies have explicitly considered the role of chains in measuring competition in nursing home markets. In this study, we use a newly developed database tracking common ownership over a period of nearly two decades to compare chain-adjusted and unadjusted measures of competition at the county and 25 km fixed-radius levels and explore how the differences would affect the assessment of local market structure. On average, the chain-adjusted Herfindahl–Hirschman Indexes (HHIs) are about 0.02 higher than the unadjusted HHIs. Each year, about 20% to 22% of the counties would appear more concentrated when recalculating HHIs accounting for common ownership. Evidence suggests that nursing home chains tend to focus more on expanding access to new markets within a state than to increasing market power within a smaller local market.

Demand-side barriers are known to be important toward explaining the limited purchase of private long-term care insurance (LTCI). In this study, we examine several factors associated with the demand for LTCI including the availability of less costly substitutes (e.g., Medicaid, family), consumer information, and risk perception. Using buyer surveys from 2000, 2005, and 2010, our results suggest that, among individuals not eliminated through medical underwriting, consumer risk perception and the presence of lower cost, imperfect substitutes are strongly associated with the limited purchase of LTCI. These factors were also predictive of the generosity of coverage purchased. If policymakers seek to stimulate demand for LTCI, new public policies might include Medicaid reform, integrating LTCI with Medicare Advantage plans, enhanced LTCI offerings through employers, and targeted informational campaigns.

Background: Given the limited ability of hospice patients to assess, monitor, and respond to substandard care, quality oversight has an important role to play in the hospice sector. The IMPACT Act of 2014 required that agencies be recertified at least every three years, but it did not otherwise alter hospice quality oversight. Objectives: To illuminate the current hospice quality oversight process and discuss its role alongside other government monitoring and public reporting efforts. Methods: Retrospective analysis (2006-2015) concerning hospice accreditation status, deficiency trends, survey frequency and deficiency outcomes, and termination from the Medicare program. Results: The proportion of privately accredited hospice agencies increased from 15% to 39%, a trend driven largely by its increased use among for-profit agencies. The combined rate of deficiencies per agency increased 35% over the past decade, with issues around care planning, aide and homemaker services, and clinical assessment featured most prominently. Nearly half (45%) of all surveys resulted in deficiency citations; however, less than one-in-four hospice agencies were surveyed in a given year. Over the past decade, 28 agencies were terminated from the Medicare program; most of these agencies were unaccredited and operated on a for-profit basis. Conclusions: The IMPACT Act addressed one of the biggest shortcomings in hospice oversight. Our findings highlight additional reforms that could be considered. First, reporting inspection results from private and public recertification surveys could promote greater transparency and accountability. Second, making a wider range of intermediate sanctions available to oversight agencies could enhance enforcement efforts and, ideally, incentivize agencies to improve quality of care.

Corporations overwhelmed with debt frequently turn to the courts for help to restructure their credit obligations, but some courts are more helpful than others. This is especially true when creditors cannot agree on a particular resolution, let alone when some creditors will not be paid at all. International corporations often have a choice of forum — and substantive insolvency law — based on their legal and physical presence in dozens or even hundreds of countries. The UK and U.S. offer different avenues for using insolvency law to restructure debts without total liquidation, and the American avenue has become more difficult to navigate thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., 137 S. Ct. 973 (2017). In Jevic, the court found that the Bankruptcy Code does not allow parties to dismiss a bankruptcy case through a “structured dismissal” to pay creditors in a manner that violates the Code's absolute priority rule. This decision weakens the ability of corporate debtors and their creditors to structure a pre-plan settlement that satisfies some, but not all, creditors. The article starts with an overview of both insolvency systems and proceeds into a thorough comparison of features relevant to a corporation choosing between the two legal schemes. The article concludes by suggesting that, while each system has advantages over the other, a distressed (but not yet doomed) corporation choosing between the forums should opt for a more flexible UK "scheme of arrangement" rather than a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Over the past decade, traditional Medicare’s per-beneficiary spending grew at historically low levels. To understand this phenomenon, it is important to examine trends in postacute care, which experienced exceptionally high spending growth in prior decades.Describe per-beneficiary spending trends between 2007 and 2015 for postacute care services among traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older.Trend analysis of individual-level Medicare administrative data to generate per-beneficiary spending and utilization estimates for postacute care, including skilled nursing facilities, home health, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.Per-beneficiary postacute care spending increased from $1,248 to $1,424 from 2007 to 2015. This modest increase reflects dramatic changes in annual spending and utilization growth rates, including a reversal from positive to negative spending growth rates for the skilled nursing facility and home health sectors. For example, the average annual spending growth rate for skilled nursing facility services declined from 7.4 percent over the 2008–11 period to –2.8 percent over the 2012–15 period. Among beneficiaries with inpatient use, growth rates for postacute care spending and utilization slowed, but more moderately than observed among all beneficiaries. Reductions in hospital use, as well as reduced payment rates, contributed to declines in postacute spending.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Relatively little is known regarding predictors of advance care planning (ACP) in former nurses. We aimed to evaluate potential predictors of ACP documentation and discussion. DESIGN Cross‐sectional study, 2012‐2014. SETTING Nurses’ Health Study. PARTICIPANTS A total of 60,917 community‐dwelling female nurses aged 66 to 93 years living across the United States. MEASUREMENTS Based on self‐reports, participants were categorized as having (1) only ACP documentation, (2) ACP documentation and a recent ACP discussion with a healthcare provider, or (3) neither. Multivariable log‐binomial models were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the two separate ACP categories vs those with neither. We evaluated various demographic, health, and social factors. RESULTS The large majority (84%) reported ACP documentation; 35% reported a recent ACP discussion. Demographic factors such as age and race were associated with both ACP categories. In multivariable analyses, race was most strongly associated: compared with whites, African Americans were 27% less likely (PR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.69‐0.78) to report ACP documentation alone and 41% (PR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.54‐0.66) less likely to report documentation with discussion. Additionally, health/healthcare‐related characteristics were more strongly associated with ACP documentation plus discussion. Women with functional limitations (PR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.10‐1.20), women who were recently hospitalized (PR: 1.10; 95% CI = 1.08‐1.12) or women who had seen a physician for health symptoms (PR = 1.43; 95% CI = 1.35‐1.52) or screening (PR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.32‐1.49) were more likely to report having both ACP documentation and discussion. Social factors showed limited relationships with ACP documentation only; for documentation plus discussion, being widowed and living alone was associated with higher prevalence (PR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.19‐1.24) and having little emotional support was associated with lower prevalence (PR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.81‐0.86). CONCLUSIONS Among older nurses, most of whom reported having documented ACP, 35% reported recent patient‐clinician ACP discussions, indicating a major participatory gap in an element critical to ACP effectiveness. Even in nurses, African Americans reported less ACP documentation or discussion. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:292–301, 2019.

Objective To evaluate the impact of the Nursing Home Value-Based Purchasing demonstration on quality of care and Medicare spending. Data Sources/Study Setting Administrative and qualitative data from Arizona, New York, and Wisconsin nursing homes over the base-year (2008–2009) and 3-year (2009–2012) demonstration period. Study Design Nursing homes were randomized to the intervention in New York, while the comparison facilities were constructed via propensity score matching in Arizona and Wisconsin. We used a difference-in-difference analysis to compare outcomes across the base-year relative to outcomes in each of the three demonstration years. To provide context and assist with interpretation of results, we also interviewed staff members at participating facilities. Principal Findings Medicare savings were observed in Arizona in the first year only and Wisconsin for the first 2 years; no savings were observed in New York. The demonstration did not systematically impact any of the quality measures. Discussions with nursing home administrators suggested that facilities made few, if any, changes in response to the demonstration, leading us to conclude that the observed savings likely reflected regression to the mean rather than true savings. Conclusion The Federal nursing home pay-for-performance demonstration had little impact on quality or Medicare spending.

A key feature of private long-term care insurance is that medical underwriters screen out would-be buyers who have health conditions that portend near-term physical or cognitive disability. We applied common underwriting criteria based on data from two long-term care insurers to a nationally representative sample of individuals in the target age range (50-71 years) for long-term care insurance. The screening criteria put upper bounds on the current proportion of Americans who could gain coverage in the individual market without changes to medical underwriting practice. Specifically, our simulations show that in the target age range, approximately 30 percent of those whose wealth meets minimum industry standards for suitability for long-term care insurance would have their application for such insurance rejected at the underwriting stage. Among the general population-without considering financial suitability-we estimated that 40 percent would have their applications rejected. The predicted rejection rates are substantially higher than the rejection rates of about 20-25 percent of applicants in the actual market. In evaluating reforms for long-term care financing and their potential to increase private insurance rates, as well as to reduce financial pressure on public safety-net programs, policy makers need to consider the role of underwriting in the market for long-term care insurance.

Currently, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Common Format for nursing homes (NHs) accommodates voluntary reporting for 4 adverse events: falls with injury, pressure ulcers, medication errors, and infections. In 2015, AHRQ funded a technical brief to describe the state of the science related to safety in the NH setting to inform a research agenda. Thirty-six recent systematic reviews evaluated NH safety-related interventions to address these 4 adverse events and reported mostly mixed evidence about effective approaches to ameliorate them. Furthermore, these 4 events are likely inadequate to capture safety issues that are unique to the NH setting and encompass other domains related to residents' quality of care and quality of life. Future research needs include expanding our definition of safety in the NH setting, which differs considerably from that of hospitals, to include contributing factors to adverse events as well as more resident-centered care measures. Second, future research should reflect more rigorous implementation science to include objective measures of care processes related to adverse events, intervention fidelity, and staffing resources for intervention implementation to inform broader uptake of efficacious interventions. Weaknesses in implementation contribute to the current inconclusive and mixed evidence base as well as remaining questions about what outcomes are even achievable in the NH setting, given the complexity of most resident populations. Also related to implementation, future research should determine the effects of specific staffing models on care processes related to safety outcomes. Last, future efforts should explore the potential for safety issues in other care settings for older adults, most notably dementia care within assisted living.

Two defining features of the nursing home industry are the tremendous churn in chain ownership and the perception of low-quality care at many facilities. We examined whether nursing homes that underwent chain-related transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, experienced a larger number of health deficiency citations than nursing homes that maintained common ownership over the same period. Using facility-level data for the period 1993-2010, we found that those nursing homes that underwent chain-related transactions had more deficiency citations in the years preceding and following a transaction than those nursing homes that maintained common ownership. Thus, we did not find that these transactions led to a decline in quality. Instead, we found that chains targeted nursing homes that were already having quality problems and that these problems persisted after the transaction. Given the high frequency of nursing home chain transactions, policy makers will need to continue to invest in tracking, reporting, and overseeing these transactions. One important step would be to report more detailed data on chain ownership, transactions, and aggregate chain quality on the Nursing Home Compare website, the federal government's online report card for nursing homes.

Objectives To assess differences in populations and service use according to hospice ownership, chain status, and agency size. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting United States. Participants Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older enrolled in hospice during 2005 to 2011 N = 5,405,526). Measurements Hospice use according to ownership category (for-profit nonchain and chain, not-for-profit nonchain and chain, government) and agency size (0–50, 51–200, 201–400, ≥401 individuals discharged each year). Mean length of use, stays of 3 days or fewer, stays ending with live discharge, and decedents receiving no general inpatient care (GIP)- or continuous home care (CHC)-level hospice in the last 7 days of life. Results After adjusting for individual and geographic differences, for-profit nonchain and chain agencies had longer mean length of use (84.5 and 91.2 days, respectively) than other agency types (66.3–72.5 days), higher rates of live discharge (21.0% and 20.2% vs 14.6–15.9%), and lower proportions of stays of 3 days or fewer (13.9% and 14.7% vs 16.6–17.5%) (all P < .001). The proportion of decedents not receiving GIP- or CHC-level care before death was highest in for-profit chains (75.9%) and lowest in not-for-profit nonchains (63.2%). Smaller agencies had longer mean length of use, higher live discharge rates, lower rates of stays of 3 days or fewer, and higher rates of individuals receiving no GIP- or CHC-level care. There were considerable differences in patient traits and unadjusted service use between the nation's largest chains. Conclusion In addition to for-profit and not-for-profit hospice agencies differing according to important dimensions, there is substantial heterogeneity within these ownership categories, highlighting the need to consider factors such as agency size and chain affiliation in understanding variations in Medicare beneficiaries’ hospice care.

In 2012, over half of nursing homes were operated by corporate chains. Facilities owned by the largest for-profit chains were reported to have lower quality of care. However, it is unknown how nursing home chain ownerships are related with experiences of care.To study the relationship between nursing home chain characteristics (chain size and profit status) with patients' family member reported ratings on experiences with care.Maryland nursing home care experience reports, the Online Survey, Certification, And Reporting (OSCAR) files, and Area Resource Files are used. Our sample consists of all nongovernmental nursing homes in Maryland from 2007 to 2010. Consumer ratings were reported for: overall care; recommendation of the facility; staff performance; care provided; food and meals; physical environment; and autonomy and personal rights. We identified chain characteristics from OSCAR, and estimated multivariate random effect linear models to test the effects of chain ownership on care experience ratings.Independent nonprofit nursing homes have the highest overall rating score of 8.9, followed by 8.6 for facilities in small nonprofit chains, and 8.5 for independent for-profit facilities. Facilities in small, medium, and large for-profit chains have even lower overall ratings of 8.2, 7.9, and 8.0, respectively. We find similar patterns of differences in terms of recommendation rate, and important areas such as staff communication and quality of care.Evidence suggests that Maryland nursing homes affiliated with large-for-profit and medium-for-profit chains had lower ratings of family reported experience with care.

Overall, 1 of 5 decedents in the United States is admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) before death.To describe structures, processes, and variability of end-of-life care delivered in ICUs in the United States.This nationwide cohort study used data on 16 945 adults who were cared for in ICUs that participated in the 68-unit ICU Liberation Collaborative quality improvement project from January 2015 through April 2017. Data were analyzed between August 2018 and June 2019.Published quality measures and end-of-life events, organized by key domains of end-of-life care in the ICU.Of 16 945 eligible patients in the collaborative, 1536 (9.1%) died during their initial ICU stay. Of decedents, 654 (42.6%) were women, 1037 (67.5%) were 60 years or older, and 1088 (70.8%) were identified as white individuals. Wide unit-level variation in end-of-life care delivery was found. For example, the median unit-stratified rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation avoidance in the last hour of life was 89.5% (interquartile range, 83.3%-96.1%; range, 50.0%-100%). Median rates of patients who were pain free and delirium free in last 24 hours of life were 75.1% (interquartile range, 66.0%-85.7%; range, 0-100%) and 60.0% (interquartile range, 43.7%-85.2%; range, 9.1%-100%), respectively. Ascertainment of an advance directive was associated with lower odds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the last hour of life (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.49-0.99; P = .04), and a documented offer or delivery of spiritual support was associated with higher odds of family presence at the time of death (odds ratio, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.37-2.77; P .001). Death in a unit with an open visitation policy was associated with higher odds of pain in the last 24 hours of life (odds ratio, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.15-4.27; P = .02). Unsupervised cluster analysis revealed 3 mutually exclusive unit-level patterns of end-of-life care delivery among 63 ICUs with complete data. Cluster 1 units (14 units [22.2%]) had the lowest rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation avoidance but achieved the highest pain-free rate. Cluster 2 (25 units [39.7%]) had the lowest delirium-free rate but achieved high rates of all other end-of-life events. Cluster 3 (24 units [38.1%]) achieved high rates across all favorable end-of-life events.In this study, end-of-life care delivery varied substantially among ICUs in the United States, and the patterns of care observed suggest that units can be characterized as higher and lower performing. To achieve optimal care for patients who die in an ICU, future research should target unit-level variation and disseminate the successes of higher-performing units.

Cost containment for dual-eligible beneficiaries (those enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid) is a key policy goal, but few studies have examined spending trends for this population. We contrasted growth in Medicare fee-for-service per beneficiary spending for those with and without Medicaid in the period 2007-15. Relative to Medicare-only enrollees, dual-eligible beneficiaries consistently had higher overall Medicare spending levels; however, they experienced steeper declines in spending growth over the study period. These trends varied across populations of interest. For instance, dual-eligible beneficiaries ages sixty-five and older went from having annual spending growth rates that were 1.8 percentage points higher than Medicare-only beneficiaries in 2008 to rates that were 1.1 percentage points lower in 2015. Across population groups, long-term users of nursing home care had some of the highest spending growth rates, averaging 1.7-4.1 percent annually depending on age group and Medicaid participation. These findings have implications for value-based payment and other Medicare policies aimed at controlling spending for dual-eligible beneficiaries.

Complaints are an opportunity for patients and family members to report allegations of substandard care. No prior studies have examined complaints in hospice care and what might be learned from them.To describe hospice complaint trends, characterize state investigation practices, and assess the relationship between complaints and hospice agency traits of interest.Retrospective analyses merged hospice complaints from 2005 to 2015 with agency characteristics from Medicare Cost Reports and Provider of Service files.Annual rates of complaint allegations and deficiencies on a per agency and per 10,000 patient days basis, nationally and by state. Likelihood of having any complaint allegations and deficiencies. Mean days to investigation and substantiation rates, by state. Hospice traits of interest were accreditation and profit status.Between 2005 and 2015, a total of 12,931 complaint allegations were received about hospice care, resulting in 6710 complaint deficiencies. Allegations centered on concerns about quality of care (45%), patients' rights (20%), and administrative/personnel concerns (14%). Complaint rates varied across states but were generally quite low-in a given year, 88% of agencies nationally did not have any complaints. Complaint investigation practices varied considerably across states, with 34% of complaints substantiated. For-profit agencies were 1.33 and 1.52 times more likely relative to not-for-profits to have a complaint allegation and deficiency, respectively.Although the number of complaints was low overall, these data have the potential to convey insights about the care that hospice agencies provide. Greater attention to the perspectives of patients and their families, even when focused on shortcomings in care, can help ensure transparency and accountability and promote higher quality hospice care.

The sharing of investors across firms is a new antitrust focus because of its potential negative effects on competition. Historically, the ability to track common investors across the continuum of health care providers has been limited. Thus, little is known about common investor ownership structures that might exist across health care delivery systems and how these linkages have evolved over time. We used data from the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to identify common investor ownership linkages across the acute care, postacute care, and hospice sectors within the same geographic markets. To our knowledge, this study provides the first description of common investor ownership trends in these sectors. We found that the percentage of acute care hospitals having common investor ties to the postacute or hospice sectors increased from 24.6 percent in 2005 to 48.9 percent in 2015. These changes have important implications for antitrust, payment, and regulatory policies.

Item does not contain fulltext BACKGROUND: Palliative care (PC) development is diverse and lacks an effective integration into European healthcare systems. This article investigates levels of integrated PC in European countries. METHODS: A qualitative survey was undertaken for the 2013 EAPC Atlas of PC in Europe with boards of national associations, eliciting opinions on opportunities for, and barriers to, PC development. ANALYSIS: Barriers and opportunities directly related to PC integration were identified and analyzed thematically according (1) to the dimensions of the World Health Organization (WHO) public health model and (2) by the degree of service provision in each country. A frequency analysis of dimensions and level of provision was also conducted. RESULTS: In total, 48/53 (91%) European countries responded to the survey. A total of 43 barriers and 65 opportunities were identified as being related to PC integration. Main barriers were (1) lack of basic PC training, with a particular emphasis on the absence of teaching at the undergraduate level; (2) lack of official certification for professionals; (3) lack of coordination and continuity of care for users and providers; (4) lack of PC integration for noncancer patients; (5) absence of PC from countries' regulatory frameworks; and (6) unequal laws or regulations pertaining to PC within countries. Innovations in education and new regulatory frameworks were identified as main opportunities in some European countries, in addition to opportunities around the implementation of PC in home care, nursing home settings, and the earlier integration of PC into patients' continuum of care. With increasing provision of services, more challenges for the integration are detected (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: A set of barriers and opportunities to PC integration has been identified across Europe, by national associations, offering a barometer against which to check the challenge of integration across countries.

OBJECTIVES: In 2006, Medicare Part D transitioned prescription drug coverage for dual-eligible nursing home residents from Medicaid to Medicare and randomly assigned them to Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs). Because PDPs may differ in coverage, plans may be more or less generous for drugs that an individual is taking. Taking advantage of the fact that randomization mitigates potential selection bias common in observational studies, this study sought to assess the effect of PDP coverage on resident outcomes for three medication classes-antidepressants, antipsychotics, and cholinesterase inhibitors. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study to examine the effect of coverage restrictions-including noncoverage and coverage with restrictions-on depression, hallucinations and delusions, aggressive behaviors, cognitive performance, and activities of daily living for dual-eligible nursing home residents randomized to PDPs in 2006 to 2008. The analyses further adjusted for baseline health status to address any residual imbalances in the comparison groups. SETTING: Linked data from Medicare claims, Minimum Data Set assessments, pharmacy claims, and PDP formulary information. PARTICIPANTS: Dual-eligible nursing home residents aged 65 and older living in facilities that contracted with a single pharmacy provider. RESULTS: PDP coverage restrictions in three medication classes of interest were not significantly associated with the resident outcomes examined. Although cholinesterase inhibitor users facing coverage restrictions had a 0.04-point lower depression rating score than residents facing no restrictions, this difference was not statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that exogenous changes in coverage for three commonly used medication classes had no detectable effect on nursing home resident outcomes in 2006 to 2008. There are several possible explanations for this lack of association, including the role of policy protections for dual-eligible nursing home residents and the possibility that suitable clinical alternatives were identified or that previously used medications offered little clinical benefit. Language: en

Relative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare, managed care plans caring for Medicare beneficiaries may be better positioned to promote recommended services and discourage burdensome procedures with little clinical value at the end of life.To compare end-of-life service use for enrollees in Medicare Advantage health maintenance organizations (MA-HMO) relative to similar individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare (TM).For a national cohort of Medicare decedents continuously enrolled in MA-HMOs or TM in their year of death, 2003-2009, we obtained hospice enrollment information and individual-level Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set utilization measures for MA-HMO decedents for up to 1 year before death. We developed comparable claims-based measures for TM decedents matched on age, sex, race, and location.Hospice use in the year preceding death was higher among MA than TM decedents in 2003 (38% vs. 29%), but the gap narrowed over the study period (46% vs. 40% in 2009). Relative to TM, MA decedents had significantly lower rates of inpatient admissions (5%-14% lower), inpatient days (18%-29% lower), and emergency department visits (42%-54% lower). MA decedents initially had lower rates of ambulatory surgery and procedures that converged with TM rates by 2009 and had modestly lower rates of physician visits initially that surpassed TM rates by 2007.Relative to comparable TM decedents in the same local areas, MA-HMO decedents more frequently enrolled in hospice and used fewer inpatient and emergency department services, demonstrating that MA plans provide less end-of-life care in hospital settings.

The role of ownership in the provision of nursing home care has long been a challenging issue for policy makers and researchers. Although much of the focus historically has been on differences between for-profit and not-for-profit facilities, this simple distinction has become less useful in recent years as companies have employed more complicated ownership and management structures. Using detailed ownership data from the state of Texas, we describe the evolution of nursing home corporate structures from 2000 to 2007, analyze the effect of these structures on quality of care and staffing in nursing homes, and discuss the policy implications of these changes.

Objectives To document the extent and appropriateness of use of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines among nursing home residents using a nationally representative survey. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. Bivariate and multivariate analyses examined relationships between resident and facility characteristics and antipsychotic and benzodiazepine use by appropriateness classification among residents aged 60 years and older (N = 12,090). Resident diagnoses and information about behavioral problems were used to categorize antipsychotic and benzodiazepine use as appropriate, potentially appropriate, or having no appropriate indication. Results More than one quarter (26%) of nursing home residents used an antipsychotic medication, 40% of whom had no appropriate indication for such use. Among the 13% of residents who took benzodiazepines, 42% had no appropriate indication. In adjusted analyses, the odds of residents taking an antipsychotic without an appropriate indication were highest for residents with diagnoses of depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12–1.53), dementia (OR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.52–2.18), and with behavioral symptoms (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.56–2.50). The odds of potentially inappropriate antipsychotic use increased as the percentage of Medicaid residents in a facility increased (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02–1.15) and decreased as the percentage of Medicare residents increased (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.25–0.83). The odds of taking a benzodiazepine without an appropriate indication were highest among residents who were female (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.18–1.75), white (OR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.47–2.60), and had behavioral symptoms (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.41–2.01). Conclusion Antipsychotics and benzodiazepines seem to be commonly prescribed to residents lacking an appropriate indication for their use.

A significant rebalancing of the long-term care system away from nursing homes toward home- and community-based services (HCBS) has occurred over the past two decades. This article reports the results of the Commonwealth Fund Long-Term Care Opinion Leader Survey (N = 1,147) on issues related to supporting HCBS. Respondents expressed strong enthusiasm for rebalancing of the long-term care system toward HCBS. In particular, respondents supported system-based approaches for this expansion, with the majority indicating that greater care coordination was the single most preferred approach for rebalancing the system, helping consumers make informed long-term care choices, and supporting caregivers. Building on the long-term care specialists’ enthusiasm for system-based reforms, we encourage state policy makers to pursue HCBS models that are linked to Medicare, engage primary care physicians, and are based on rigorous evaluations.

The purpose of this study was to extract phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity from buckwheat with water, 50% aqueous ethanol, or 100% ethanol using microwave irradiation or a water bath for 15 min at various temperatures (23–150 °C). Phenolic content of extracts increased with increasing temperature. In general, phenolic contents in microwave irradiated extracts were higher than those heated with a water bath. The highest phenolic content, 18.5 ± 0.2 mg/g buckwheat, was observed in the extract that was microwave irradiated in 50% aqueous ethanol at 150 °C. The highest antioxidant activities, 5.61 ± 0.04–5.73 ± 0.00 μmol Trolox equivalents/g buckwheat, were found in the 100% ethanol extracts obtained at 100 and 150 °C, independent of heat source. These results indicate that microwave irradiation can be used to obtain buckwheat extracts with higher phenolic content and similar antioxidant activity as extracts heated in a water bath.

Despite increasing scientific and public concerns on the potential impacts of global ocean warming on marine biodiversity, very few empirical data on community-level responses to rising water temperatures are available other than for coral reefs. This study describes changes in temperate subtidal reef communities over decadal and regional scales in a location that has undergone considerable warming in recent decades and is forecast to be a ‘hotspot’ for future warming. Plant and animal communities at 136 rocky reef sites around Tasmania (south-east Australia) were censused between 1992 and 1995, and again in 2006 and 2007. Despite evidence of major ecological changes before the period of study, reef communities appeared to remain relatively stable over the past decade. Multivariate analyses and univariate metrics of biotic communities revealed few changes with time, although some species-level responses could be interpreted as symptomatic of ocean warming. These included fishes detected in Tasmania only in recent surveys and several species with warmer water affinities that appeared to extend their distributions further south. The most statistically significant changes observed in species abundances, however, were not related to their biogeographical affinities. The majority of species with changing abundance possessed lower to mid-range abundances rather than being common, raising questions for biodiversity monitoring and management. We suggest that our study encompassed a relatively stable period following more abrupt change, and that community responses to ocean warming may follow nonlinear, step-like trajectories.