L&M to develop and assess HH PPS reform options to ensure access to care and adequate payment for vulnerable populations

September 15, 2011

Due to concerns over decreased access to Medicare home health services for some populations, the Affordable Care Act mandates that CMS complete a study of the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS). The study aims to analyze payment reform options to minimize program vulnerabilities, improve system-wide reimbursement and payment accuracy, and ensure access to home health services for low-income beneficiaries, beneficiaries living in medically underserved areas, and beneficiaries with high levels of clinical severity.

CMS has contracted with L&M to execute the study with the following research objectives:

• Analyze patient characteristics and payment system incentives to ensure adequate reimbursement for vulnerable populations
• Identify methods to discourage case-mix growth unrelated to actual changes in patient characteristics
• Analyze utilization, case-mix, and outcomes to ensure that the provision of therapy is appropriately incentivized
• Review methods to improve the outlier payment system so that it adequately reimburses cases that truly require more resources than were captured in the case-mix weights
• Determine if adjustments are needed for patients entering home health through the community versus a post-acute stay

CMS awards L&M a Small Business Research and Demonstration (SBRAD) IDIQ contract

May 12, 2011

L&M holds an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to perform research supporting or evaluating a range of CMS programs and activities. The task orders issued under this contract mechanism are expected to include:

• Policy analysis and evaluation related to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Demonstration design, development, implementation, evaluation, and analysis
• Measures analyses and development
• Survey design and administration
• Data collection and analyses

Under SBRAD, L&M was recently awarded a task order contract to complete a study of the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS). The study aims to analyze payment reform options to minimize program vulnerabilities, improve system-wide reimbursement and payment accuracy, and ensure access to home health services for certain vulnerable populations of Medicare beneficiaries.

L&M to assist ASH, Region VI with the development of a consumer Web site about health care-associated infections

September 30, 2010

The prevention of health care-associated infections (HAIs) is a top priority for public health officials, with agencies across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) escalating efforts to reduce, treat, and inform the public about HAIs. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (ASH), Region VI, is leading one such effort, planning a consumer Web site with information about HAIs to raise awareness and assist consumers in making informed health care choices.

Region IV contracted with L&M to conduct formative research to support the development of the Web site's elements. L&M's key tasks include:

• Coordinating with the Region VI HAI Workgroup that includes infectious disease experts from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and other federal agencies
• Identifying and evaluating existing national and/or state HAI Web sites to characterize the array of data displays and language for publicly reporting HAIs
• Conducting a series of focus groups with consumers to gather input about HAI information and its potential for supporting informed choice

CMS awards L&M a Consumer Research and Communications (CRC) IDIQ contract

September 1, 2010

L&M was recently awarded one of six indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct qualitative and quantitative research to support the implementation and assessment of CMS communication efforts.

The task orders issued under this IDIQ mechanism are expected to include:

• Qualitative and quantitative formative research
• Consumer research on specific messages, products, or materials
• Quantitative analyses to learn more about the populations CMS serves and those affected by CMS's programs
• Assessment of the effectiveness of CMS communication efforts