Journal of Health Economics
Vol. 32, Issue 5, Pages 965-979
September 2013
Abstract
We examine provider responses to the
Medicare inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment
system (PPS), which simultaneously reduced marginal reimbursement and
increased average reimbursement. IRFs could respond to the PPS by
changing the number of patients admitted, admitting different types of
patients, or changing the intensity of care. We use Medicare claims
data to separately estimate each type of provider response. We also
examine changes in patient outcomes and spillover effects on other
post-acute care providers. We find that costs of care initially fell
following the PPS, which we attribute to changes in treatment decisions
rather than the characteristics of patients admitted to IRFs within the
diagnostic categories we examine. However, the probability of admission
to IRFs increased after the PPS due to the expanded admission policies
of providers. We find modest spillover effects in other post-acute
settings and negative health impacts for only one of three diagnostic
groups studied.
Citation
Sood, Neeraj, Peter J. Huckfeldt, David C. Grabowski, Joseph P. Newhouse, and José J. Escarce. "The Effect of Prospective Payment on Admission and Treatment Policy: Evidence from Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities." Journal of Health Economics 32.5 (September 2013): 965-979.