Dataset Information

Use of a medication-based risk adjustment index to predict mortality among veterans dually-enrolled in VA and medicare.

ABSTRACT: Background:There is systemic undercoding of medical comorbidities within administrative claims in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This leads to bias when applying claims-based risk adjustment indices to compare outcomes between VA and non-VA settings. Our objective was to compare the accuracy of a medication-based risk adjustment index (RxRisk-VM) to diagnostic claims-based indices for predicting mortality.

Methods:We modified the RxRisk-V index (RxRisk-VM) by incorporating VA and Medicare pharmacy and durable medical equipment claims in Veterans dually-enrolled in VA and Medicare in 2012. Using the concordance (C) statistic, we compared its accuracy in predicting 1 and 3-year all-cause mortality to the following models: demographics only, demographics plus prescription count, or demographics plus a diagnostic claims-based risk index (e.g., Charlson, Elixhauser, or Gagne). We also compared models containing demographics, RxRisk-VM, and a claims-based index.

Results:In our cohort of 271,184 dually-enrolled Veterans (mean age?=?70.5 years, 96.1% male, 81.7% non-Hispanic white), RxRisk-VM (C?=?0.773) exhibited greater accuracy in predicting 1-year mortality than demographics only (C?=?0.716) or prescription counts (C?=?0.744), but was less accurate than the Charlson (C?=?0.794), Elixhauser (C?=?0.80), or Gagne (C?=?0.810) indices (all P?
Conclusions:The RxRisk-VM index exhibited a high level of, but slightly less, accuracy in predicting mortality in comparison to claims-based risk indices.

Implications:Its application may enhance the accuracy of studies examining VA and non-VA care and enable risk adjustment when diagnostic claims are not available or biased.

Level of evidence:Level 3.

SUBMITTER: Radomski TR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6814520 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Use of a medication-based risk adjustment index to predict mortality among veterans dually-enrolled in VA and medicare.

Radomski Thomas R TR Zhao Xinhua X Hanlon Joseph T JT Thorpe Joshua M JM Thorpe Carolyn T CT Naples Jennifer G JG Sileanu Florentina E FE Cashy John P JP Hale Jennifer A JA Mor Maria K MK Hausmann Leslie R M LRM Donohue Julie M JM Suda Katie J KJ Stroupe Kevin T KT Good Chester B CB Fine Michael J MJ Gellad Walid F WF

Healthcare (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 20190426 4

<h4>Background</h4>There is systemic undercoding of medical comorbidities within administrative claims in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This leads to bias when applying claims-based risk adjustment indices to compare outcomes between VA and non-VA settings. Our objective was to compare the accuracy of a medication-based risk adjustment index (RxRisk-VM) to diagnostic claims-based indices for predicting mortality.<h4>Methods</h4>We modified the RxRisk-V index (RxRisk-VM) by incorporati ...[more]

PMID: 31031120

Similar Datasets

Project description:Importance:Medicare beneficiaries who are also enrolled in Medicaid (dually enrolled beneficiaries) have drawn the attention of policy makers because they comprise the poorest subset of the Medicare population; however, it is unclear how their outcomes have changed over time compared with those only enrolled in Medicare (nondually enrolled beneficiaries). Objective:To evaluate annual changes in all-cause mortality, hospitalization rates, and hospitalization-related mortality among dually enrolled beneficiaries and nondually enrolled beneficiaries. Design, Setting, and Participants:Serial cross-sectional study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 years or older between January 2004 and December 2017. The final date of follow-up was September 30, 2018. Exposures:Dual vs nondual enrollment status. Main Outcomes and Measures:Annual all-cause mortality rates; all-cause hospitalization rates; and in-hospital, 30-day, 1-year hospitalization-related mortality rates. Results:There were 71?017?608 unique Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older (mean age, 75.6 [SD, 9.2] years; 54.9% female) enrolled in Medicare for at least 1 month from 2004 through 2017. Of these beneficiaries, 11?697?900 (16.5%) were dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid for at least 1 month. After adjusting for age, sex, and race, annual all-cause mortality rates declined from 8.5% (95% CI, 8.45%-8.56%) in 2004 to 8.1% (95% CI, 8.05%-8.13%) in 2017 among dually enrolled beneficiaries and from 4.1% (95% CI, 4.08%-4.13%) in 2004 to 3.8% (95% CI, 3.76%-3.79%) in 2017 among nondually enrolled beneficiaries. The difference in annual all-cause mortality between dually and nondually enrolled beneficiaries increased between 2004 (adjusted odds ratio, 2.09 [95% CI, 2.08-2.10]) and 2017 (adjusted odds ratio, 2.22 [95% CI, 2.21-2.23]) (P?<?.001 for interaction between dual enrollment status and time). All-cause hospitalizations per 100?000 beneficiary-years declined from 49?888 in 2004 to 41?121 in 2017 among dually enrolled beneficiaries (P?<?.001) and from 29?000 in 2004 to 22?601 in 2017 among nondually enrolled beneficiaries (P?<?.001); however, the difference between these groups widened between 2004 (adjusted risk ratio, 1.72 [95% CI, 1.71-1.73]) and 2017 (adjusted risk ratio, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.82-1.83]) (P?<?.001 for interaction). Among hospitalized beneficiaries, the risk-adjusted 30-day mortality rates declined from 10.3% (95% CI, 10.22%-10.33%) in 2004 to 10.1% (95% CI, 10.02%-10.20%) in 2017 among dually enrolled beneficiaries and from 8.5% (95% CI, 8.50%-8.56%) in 2004 to 8.1% (95% CI, 8.06%-8.13%) in 2017 among nondually enrolled beneficiaries. In contrast, 1-year mortality increased among hospitalized beneficiaries from 23.1% (95% CI, 23.05%-23.20%) in 2004 to 26.7% (95% CI, 26.58%-26.84%) in 2017 among dually enrolled beneficiaries and from 18.1% (95% CI, 18.11%-18.17%) in 2004 to 20.3% (95% CI, 20.21%-20.31%) in 2017 among nondually enrolled beneficiaries. The difference in hospitalization-related outcomes between dually and nondually enrolled beneficiaries persisted during the study period. Conclusions and Relevance:Among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 years or older, dually enrolled beneficiaries had higher annual all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalizations, and hospitalization-related mortality compared with nondually enrolled beneficiaries. Between 2004 and 2017, these differences did not decrease.

Project description:PurposeWomen Veterans have unique healthcare needs and often experience comorbid health conditions. Despite this, many women Veterans are not enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and do not use VHA services. Underutilization of VHA services may be particularly prevalent among rural women Veterans, who may experience unique barriers to using VHA care. Nonetheless, knowledge of rural women Veterans and their experiences remains limited. We sought to understand rural women Veterans' perceptions and needs related to VHA healthcare, including barriers to enrolling in and using VHA services, and perspectives on how to communicate with rural women Veterans about VHA services.MethodsRural women Veterans were recruited through community engagement with established partners and a mass mailing to rural women Veterans not enrolled in or using VHA healthcare. Ten virtual focus groups were conducted with a total of twenty-nine rural women Veterans (27 not enrolled in VHA care and 2 who had not used VHA care in the past 5 years) in 2021. A thematic inductive analytic approach was used to analyze focus group transcripts.FindingsPrimary themes regarding rural women Veterans' perceptions of barriers to enrollment and use of VHA healthcare included: (1) poor communication about eligibility and the process of enrollment; (2) belief that VHA does not offer sufficient women's healthcare services; and (3) inconvenience of accessing VHA facilities.ConclusionAlthough VHA has substantially expanded healthcare services for women Veterans, awareness of such services and the nuances of eligibility and enrollment remains an impediment to enrolling in and using VHA healthcare among rural women Veterans. Recommended strategies include targeted communication with rural women Veterans not enrolled in VHA care to increase their awareness of the enrollment process, eligibility, and expansion of women's healthcare services. Creative strategies to address access and transportation barriers in rural locations are also needed.

Project description:ImportanceThe Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP) is a value-based payment program focused on safety events. Prior studies have found that the program disproportionately penalizes safety-net hospitals, which may perform more poorly because of unmeasured severity of illness rather than lower quality. A similar program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, stratifies hospitals into 5 peer groups for evaluation based on the proportion of their patients dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, but the effect of stratification on the HACRP is unknown.ObjectiveTo characterize the hospitals penalized by the HACRP and the distribution of financial penalties before and after stratification.Design, setting, and participantsThis economic evaluation used publicly available data on HACRP performance and penalties merged with hospital characteristics and cost reports. A total of 3102 hospitals participating in the HACRP in fiscal year 2020 (covering data from July 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018) were studied.ExposuresHospitals were divided into 5 groups based on the proportion of patients dually enrolled, and penalties were assigned to the lowest-performing quartile of hospitals in each group rather than the lowest-performing quartile overall.Main outcomes and measuresPenalties in the prestratification vs poststratification schemes.ResultsThe study identified 3102 hospitals evaluated by the HACRP. Safety-net hospitals received $111 333 384 in penalties before stratification compared with an estimated $79 087 744 after stratification-a savings of $32 245 640. Hospitals less likely to receive penalties after stratification included safety-net hospitals (33.6% penalized before stratification vs 24.8% after stratification, Δ = -8.8 percentage points [pp], P < .001), public hospitals (34.1% vs 30.5%, Δ = -3.6 pp, P = .003), hospitals in the West (26.8% vs 23.2%, Δ = -3.6 pp, P < .001), hospitals in Medicaid expansion states (27.3% vs 25.6%, Δ = -1.7 pp, P = .003), and hospitals caring for the most patients with disabilities (32.2% vs 28.3%, Δ = -3.9 pp, P < .001) and from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds (35.1% vs 31.5%, Δ = -3.6 pp, P < .001). In multivariate analyses, safety-net status and treating patients with highly medically complex conditions were associated with higher odds of moving from penalized to nonpenalized status.Conclusions and relevanceThis economic evaluation suggests that stratification of hospitals would be associated with a narrowing of disparities in penalties and a marked reduction in penalties for safety-net hospitals. Policy makers should consider adopting stratification for the HACRP.

Dataset Information

Use of a medication-based risk adjustment index to predict mortality among veterans dually-enrolled in VA and medicare.

Publications

Use of a medication-based risk adjustment index to predict mortality among veterans dually-enrolled in VA and medicare.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets