Healthcare Reform Flashcards
Why does healthcare reform matter
- Payment for services — if PTs can not be paid, we lose our position
- Legal issues — we need to know what is allowed and not allowed under billing
What happened in 1965
Social security amendments create medicare and Medicaid
What happened in 1973
Health maintenance organization act is passed promoted pre—paid group insurance (HMO)
When is hippa established
1996
Enhanced penalties for fraud and abuse
Established medicare integrity program
What happened in 1997
Balanced budget act — medicare cap of PT services
What happened in 2010
Affordable care act (Obamacare)
What is the impact act of 2014
- Improving medicare post-acute acre transformation act
- Standardized data submission for all post-acute care facilities (and home health)
- skin integrity, functional status and cog status/change, medication reconciliation, incidence of major falls, transfer of health information, resource use information, discharge to community, all condition risk adjusted preventable hospital readmissions — all of these things impact the inpatient setting a lot
What are the four modes of healthcare financing in USA
- Out of pocket payment
- Individual private insurance
- Employment based group insurance
- Government-social insurance model
Types of insurance
- Conventional — fixed amount paid, patient pays the rest. Not currently utilized in healthcare payment
- Preferred provider Organization (PPO) — plan that allows you to see any health provider in network without referral, in network costs are much less to the patient than out of network
- Health maintenance org (HMO) — participant must choose a PCP who will direct all services needed to in network members and specialists
- Point of service — cash based model
- High deductible health plan (HDHP) — higher initial deductible cost but lower yearly or monthly premiums.
PT billing requirements
- Diagnosis coding — pathology (ICD-10) owned by World Health Org
- Procedure coding — what PT did for diagnosis (CPT) owned by American medical association
required for private practice, outpatient hospital, and Medicare part B skilled nursing facility payment
Motivation for reform
US spends more per capita than other similarly developed countries
US falls below same countries on multiple health metrics
Baby boomers are old now so impact on fiscal health of government isn’t great
Why does one need health insurance
- Important determinant to access of health care
- Uninsured: no usual source of care, less likely to have been seen by provider in last 6 months, unmet healthcare needs, worse healthcare outcomes
- Financial burden — shit is expensive without insurance
What does uncompensated care mean
People without insurance still receive medical care if needed
- Expenses are passed along: so end up with higher prices for those who can pay and higher insurance premiums
Adverse selection
More unhealthy people purchase insurance compared to healthy people
— causes high risk patient to choose higher coverage
— Insurers then: avoid covering too many high risk, high cost people (cancellation of policies, limits on lifetime payments, refusing coverage to those with pre-existing conditions)
What did affordable care act do
Signed in march of 2010 — identified 10 essential health benefits
- employer mandate
- individual mandate
- reduced uninsured in US by 32 million people
what are the 10 essential health benefits?
KNOW THIS
1. Ambulatory patient services
2. Emergency services
3. Hospitalization
4. Maternity and newborn care
5. Mental health/substance use disorder services including behavioral health
6. Prescription drugs
7. Rehab and habilitative services and devices
8. Laboratory services
9. Preventative and wellness services including chronic disease management
10. Pediatric services including oral and vision care
What is the federalist approach
December 2011 — the department of health and human services handed states the authority to develop their own essential health benefits standards
BUT the minimum benefits in one state will differ from another state. But everything on the essential health benefit standards has to be included one way or another but the way they are covered can be different.
What does employer mandate mean
Applicable large employers must be at least 95% of their full time employees and their non-spousal dependents affordable health coverage or face financial penalties
- Plan must provide minimal essential benefits and minimal value coverage of >60% of healthcare expenses
- Applicable large employers — defined as averaged at least 50 full time equivalents during the previous calendar year.