A new report from Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., synthesizes findings from the first two years of the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration, noting that patients and physicians were generally very satisfied with the program, but few programs had statistically detectable effects on patients’ behavior or use of Medicare services.
The Medicare demonstration is testing whether case management and disease management programs can lower costs and improve patient outcomes and well-being in the Medicare fee-for-service population. Mathematica’s study is examining whether programs meet their goals of reducing costs and improving patient satisfaction and quality of care.
Major findings include the following:
* None of the programs significantly improved adherence to diet, medication, exercise, or self-care regimens.
* Quality of care was favorably affected by only two of the 15 programs.
* Only one program had statistically significant reductions in hospitalizations, and none reduced costs.
* Hiring excellent staff and performing certain key functions well (e.g., improving patient education) appear to be more important than a focus on provider performance, service arrangement, or IT in determining whether a program had promising results for reducing costs or improving quality. Download the report.
