Strategic Patient Discharge: the Case of Long-Term Care Hospitals

Am Econ Rev. 2018 Nov;108(11):3232-65.

Abstract

Medicare's prospective payment system for long-term acute-care hospitals (LTCHs) provides modest reimbursements at the beginning of a patient's stay before jumping discontinuously to a large lump-sum payment after a prespecified number of days. We show that LTCHs respond to the financial incentives of this system by disproportionately discharging patients after they cross the large-payment threshold. We find this occurs more often at for-profit facilities, facilities acquired by leading LTCH chains, and facilities colocated with other hospitals. Using a dynamic structural model, we evaluate counterfactual payment policies that would provide substantial savings for Medicare.

MeSH terms

  • Economics, Hospital
  • Hospitals, Proprietary / economics*
  • Humans
  • Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / economics*
  • Length of Stay / economics*
  • Long-Term Care / economics*
  • Medicare / economics*
  • Patient Discharge / economics*
  • Prospective Payment System / economics
  • United States