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Rewards tied to improved hospital readmission rates were so small and so variable from year to year that they likely contributed to a “lack of effectiveness” for a key nursing home financial incentive program.
The Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing program is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ largest use of financial incentives to drive performance, which is being measured only by reductions in hospital readmission through 2025.
A study published in June found that the program had been ineffective in driving change; in a follow-up published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, they examined what role incentives played in encouraging investments that would change outcomes.
While providers can net incentive payments, researchers found that, on average, most providers lost money on the program, which withholds 2% in funding from all skilled nursing providers and then redistributes 60% of that to top performers.