Study: Care Costs Vary in Bundled-Payment Initiative

Care costs at hospitals participating in a CMS bundled-payment initiative can vary by more than 100%, and hospitals that successfully coordinate care are best positioned to benefit from the model, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that CMS routinely spends as much or more on care in the 90 days after discharge as it does on the initial hospitalization.

• "Cost Control Key to Hospitals' Bundled Pay" (Pittman, MedPage Today, 11/15).