In a recent piece with The Well News, Michael P. Ast, MD, Chief of the Knee Service, Chief Medical Innovation Officer and Director of Ambulatory Surgery Center Strategy at HSS shares his insight on medicare reform. 

According to Dr. Ast, Medicare pays for about 8 million surgeries each year, from joint replacements and spinal fusions to open-heart bypasses. To ensure that seniors get the best follow-up care possible — and thus avoid expensive complications — Medicare officials are about to roll out a new payment model.

In essence, the reform puts hospitals on the hook for medical expenses patients incur within 30 days after they are discharged. This will give hospitals skin in the game, incentivizing them to not only perform the surgeries well but also provide patients with all the wound care, pain management and physical therapy needed to ensure a healthy recovery.

If all goes as planned, seniors will receive more comprehensive care and experience better outcomes. Hospitals with higher quality care and better follow-up care may receive a bonus. And taxpayers will save billions as complications and readmissions decline.

It’s a win-win-win proposal, at least in theory. 

But in practice, this proposal will only succeed if Congress intervenes and gives hospitals permission to continue using one of their most effective tools — virtual physical therapy.

Read the full article at thewellnews.com.