Dataset Information

Contemporary Epidemiology of Heart Failure in Fee-For-Service Medicare Beneficiaries Across Healthcare Settings.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:To assess the current landscape of the heart failure (HF) epidemic and provide targets for future health policy interventions in Medicare, a contemporary appraisal of its epidemiology across inpatient and outpatient care settings is needed. METHODS AND RESULTS:In a national 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2002 to 2013, we identified a cohort of 2?331?939 unique fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries ?65-years-old followed for all inpatient and outpatient encounters over a 10-year period (2004-2013). Preexisting HF was defined by any HF encounter during the first year, and incident HF with either 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient HF encounters. Mean age of the cohort was 72 years; 57% were women, and 86% and 8% were white and black, respectively. Within this cohort, 518?223 patients had preexisting HF, and 349?826 had a new diagnosis of HF during the study period. During 2004 to 2013, the rates of incident HF declined 32%, from 38.7 per 1000 (2004) to 26.2 per 1000 beneficiaries (2013). In contrast, prevalent (preexisting + incident) HF increased during our study period from 162 per 1000 (2004) to 172 per 1000 beneficiaries (2013) (Ptrend <0.001 for both). Finally, the overall 1-year mortality among patients with incident HF is high (24.7%) with a 0.4% absolute decline annually during the study period, with a more pronounced decrease among those diagnosed in an inpatient versus outpatient setting (Pinteraction <0.001) CONCLUSIONS: In recent years, there have been substantial changes in the epidemiology of HF in Medicare beneficiaries, with a decline in incident HF and a decrease in 1-year HF mortality, whereas the overall burden of HF continues to increase.

SUBMITTER: Khera R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6057614 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Contemporary Epidemiology of Heart Failure in Fee-For-Service Medicare Beneficiaries Across Healthcare Settings.

Khera Rohan R Pandey Ambarish A Ayers Colby R CR Agusala Vijay V Pruitt Sandi L SL Halm Ethan A EA Drazner Mark H MH Das Sandeep R SR de Lemos James A JA Berry Jarett D JD

Circulation. Heart failure 20171101 11

<h4>Background</h4>To assess the current landscape of the heart failure (HF) epidemic and provide targets for future health policy interventions in Medicare, a contemporary appraisal of its epidemiology across inpatient and outpatient care settings is needed.<h4>Methods and results</h4>In a national 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2002 to 2013, we identified a cohort of 2 331 939 unique fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries ≥65-years-old followed for all inpatient and outpatient encoun ...[more]

PMID: 29129828

Similar Datasets

Project description:ImportanceMedicare Advantage (MA), a private insurance plan option, now covers one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries. Although patients with cardiovascular disease enrolled in MA have been reported to receive higher quality of care in the ambulatory setting than patients enrolled in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare, it is unclear whether MA is associated with higher quality in patients hospitalized with heart failure, or alternatively, if incentives to reduce utilization under MA plans may be associated with worse care.ObjectiveTo determine whether there are differences in quality of care received and in-hospital outcomes among patients enrolled in MA vs FFS Medicare.Design, setting, and participantsObservational, retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with heart failure in hospitals participating in the Get With the Guidelines-Heart Failure registry.ExposuresMedicare Advantage enrollment.Main outcomes and measuresIn-hospital mortality, discharge disposition, length of stay, and 4 heart failure achievement measures.ResultsOf 262 626 patients hospitalized with heart failure, 93 549 (35.6%) were enrolled in MA and 169 077 (64.4%) in FFS Medicare. The median (interquartile range) age was 78 (70-85) years for patients enrolled in MA and 78 (69-86) years for patients enrolled in FFS Medicare. Standard mean differences in age, sex, prevalence of comorbidities, or objective measures on admission, including vital signs and laboratory values, were less than 10%. After adjustment, there were no statistically significant differences in receipt of evidence-based β-blockers when indicated; angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin II receptor blockers, or angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors at discharge; measurement of left ventricular function; and postdischarge appointments by Medicare insurance type. Patients enrolled in MA, however, had higher odds of being discharged directly home (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.16; 95% CI, 1.13-1.19; P < .001) relative to patients enrolled in FFS Medicare and lower odds of being discharged within 4 days (AOR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.93-1.00; P = .04). There was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality between patients with MA and patients with FFS Medicare (AOR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.92-1.03; P = .42).Conclusions and relevanceAmong patients hospitalized with heart failure, no observable benefit was noted in quality of care or in-hospital mortality between those enrolled in MA vs FFS Medicare, except lower use of post-acute care facilities. As MA continues to grow, it will be important to ensure that participating private plans provide an added value to the patients they cover to justify the higher administrative costs compared with traditional FFS Medicare.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies have identified disparities in readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program's (HRRP's) priority conditions. Evidence suggests timely follow-up is associated with reduced risk of readmission, but it is unknown whether timely follow-up reduces disparities in readmission.ObjectiveTo assess whether follow-up within 7 days after discharge from a hospitalization reduces risk of readmission and mitigates identified readmission disparities.DesignA retrospective cohort study using Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the associations between sociodemographic characteristics (race and ethnicity, dual-eligibility status, rurality, and area social deprivation), follow-up, and readmission. Mediation analysis was used to examine if disparities in readmission were mitigated by follow-up.ParticipantsWe analyzed data from 749,402 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, or pneumonia, and discharged home between January 1 and December 1, 2018.Main measureAll-cause unplanned readmission within 30 days after discharge.Key resultsPost-discharge follow-up within 7 days of discharge was associated with a substantially lower risk of readmission (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.52-0.53). Across all four HRRP conditions, beneficiaries with dual eligibility and beneficiaries living in areas with high social deprivation had a higher risk of readmission. Non-Hispanic Black beneficiaries had higher risk of readmission after hospitalization for pneumonia relative to non-Hispanic Whites. Mediation analysis suggested that 7-day follow-up mediated 21.2% of the disparity in the risk of readmission between dually and non-dually eligible beneficiaries and 50.7% of the disparity in the risk of readmission between beneficiaries living in areas with the highest and lowest social deprivation. Analysis suggested that after hospitalization for pneumonia, 7-day follow-up mediated nearly all (97.5%) of the increased risk of readmission between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White beneficiaries.ConclusionsImproving rates of follow-up could be a strategy to reduce readmissions for all beneficiaries and reduce disparities in readmission based on sociodemographic characteristics.

Project description:BackgroundThe amount of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures performed in the United States has been increasing steadily and is projected to reach 3 million procedures annually by 2030 in patients aged ?65 years. A rise in TKA procedures will increase spending on osteoarthritis treatments, which is currently the second highest category of spending for Medicare patients. Because TKA procedures account for a substantial amount of total osteoarthritis spending, payers and providers are examining methods to reduce spending on the procedure while improving clinical outcomes. Customized individually made implants have been shown to improve clinical outcomes, such as physical function and limb alignment, compared with off-the-shelf implants; however, the economic impact of customized implants has yet to be established.ObjectiveTo analyze TKA episode expenditures among Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) members who received a customized or an off-the-shelf implant.MethodsMembers undergoing a TKA procedure using the customized implant technology were identified in the Medicare FFS database and were propensity matched (1:5) to a cohort of members who received off-the-shelf implants. Reimbursement for the initial procedure (ie, customized and off-the-shelf procedure), a preoperative computed tomography scan, and 12-month postoperative healthcare utilization were analyzed. The overall episode expenditures were used to construct a budget impact model to calculate the per-member per-month (PMPM) spending for Medicare FFS beneficiaries.ResultsThe average total episode spending was significantly lower among the customized implant cohort ($18,585) compared with the off-the-shelf implant cohort ($20,280; a $1695 difference; P <.0001). This savings resulted in $0.08 PMPM savings for the Medicare FFS program when a portion (10%) of eligible members received the customized implant technology. A sensitivity analysis, which varied with the customized implant market penetration and the percent of customized implant-eligible procedures, indicated that the savings could be as great as $0.28 PMPM.ConclusionThe results of this analysis demonstrate that the use of customized implants in TKA procedures can achieve substantial savings versus off-the-shelf procedures for the Medicare FFS program, and this savings is primarily driven by a lower average initial procedure cost and lower postoperative spendings for inpatient services and skilled-nursing facility costs.

Dataset Information

Contemporary Epidemiology of Heart Failure in Fee-For-Service Medicare Beneficiaries Across Healthcare Settings.

Publications

Contemporary Epidemiology of Heart Failure in Fee-For-Service Medicare Beneficiaries Across Healthcare Settings.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure