Providers Are Key to Controlling Unnecessary Health Care Spending Health care in the United States is very expensive, and many experts believe one thing contributing to that expense is the abundance of unnecessary or “low-value” health care services provided to patients. Policymakers typically believe that patients receive this unnecessary care because they expect or demand it. However, this month, the University of Michigan revealed new polling data that turns that assumption upside down. The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging polled a national sample of approximately 2,000 adults
between 50 and 80 years old. Over 50% of those polled agreed that health care providers in general “often recommend medications, tests, or procedures that patients do not really need.” Around 25% said the same about their own providers, and 17% reported that they had a service recommended to them in the past year that they felt they did not need. Tellingly, a large number of patients who received such recommendations went ahead with the test or prescription fill despite feeling it was unnecessary or wasteful, indicating that patients listen to their providers’ recommendations even when it conflicts with the patient’s own beliefs.
By contrast, only 9% of those polled reported that they thought they needed a service their provider said was unneeded. Nearly 80% of those who requested such a service received an explanation from their provider about why the service was not necessary, and most patients understood and accepted these explanations. These findings suggest that patients may not be the primary drivers of unnecessary services. If true, this means that efforts to reduce overuse by changing patient behavior may be misdirected. It also means that providers may have much more control over these costs than previously thought, including the ability to influence patients by
explaining why the requested service is of low value in general, or to that patient in particular. Medicare Rights continues to advocate for policy solutions that do not penalize or burden patients who lack the expertise to choose the most appropriate care. Instead, we must look for ways to improve provider and patient education—including an understanding of what services are inappropriate—and spur better communications between patients and the health care experts they rely on. Read more about the findings on overuse from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.
Scrutinizing Medicare Coverage For Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy For years, confusion has surrounded the conditions under which older adults can receive physical, occupational and speech therapy covered by Medicare. Services have been terminated for some seniors, such as those with severe cases of multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, because therapists said they weren’t making sufficient progress. Others, including individuals recovering from strokes or traumatic brain injuries, have been told that they reached an annual limit on services and didn’t qualify for further care. Neither explanation stands up to scrutiny. Medicare does not require that older adults demonstrate improvement in order to receive ongoing therapy. Nor does it limit the amount of medically necessary therapy, for the most part. The February congressional budget deal eases long-standing concerns by lifting a threat that some types of therapy might be restricted. But potential barriers to accessing this type of care remain. Here’s a look at how
Medicare now covers such services. Medical necessity. All therapy covered by Medicare must be deemed “reasonable and necessary to treat the individual’s illness or injury,” require the services of skilled professionals and be subject to medical oversight. What isn’t a precondition for receiving services is ongoing improvement — getting measurably better. While this can be a goal for therapy, other goals can include maintaining a person’s current abilities or preventing deterioration, according to a groundbreaking legal settlement in 2013. The implication for older adults: If your therapist claims that she can’t help you any longer because you aren’t making substantial progress, you may well have grounds for an appeal. At the ver y least, a discussion with your physician about reasonable goals for therapy is advisable. Part A therapy services. Often, older adults require therapy after an untoward event brings them to
the hospital — for instance, a stroke or a bad fall. If a senior has an inpatient stay in the hospital of at least three days, he or she becomes eligible for up to 100 days of rehabilitation, including therapy, in a skilled nursing facility under Medicare Part A. Therapy services covered by Medicare Part A also can be obtained in an inpatient, hospital-based rehabilitation facility. In this setting, requirements call for therapy to be “intensive” — at least three hours a day, five days a week. Stays are covered by Medicare up to a maximum 90 days. If a senior returns home after being in the hospital, he or she may receive therapy from a home health agency under Medicare Part A. To qualify for home health care, an older adult must need intermittent skilled services, such as those provided by a registered nurse or physical therapist, and be substantially homebound. Each episode of home health care can last up to 60 days and be renewed with a physician’s authorization.
“A lot of home health agencies believe, wrongly, that the home health benefit, including therapy services, is limited in duration to a couple of 60-day episodes,” said David Lipschutz, senior policy attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy. The bottom line for beneficiaries: You may have to advocate aggressively for the care you think you need and enlist your physician to intervene on your behalf. Part B services. Physical, speech and occupational therapy are also covered by Medicare Part B in private practices, hospital outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities (when a patient’s Part A benefits have run out) and, less frequently, in people’s homes (when individuals no longer qualify for Part A home health services but still need assistance). ...Read More
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