TCAA proposes episode-based payment for trauma care

In a recent letter to CMS, the Trauma Center Association of America proposed an episode-based payment model for the treatment of traumatic injury. Under the proposal, the episode of care would begin with the patient’s presentation at a trauma center and end with inpatient admission or outpatient discharge. Payment would be based on trauma center categorization and severity of injury. Given the four trauma facility levels and three triage categories, the system would effectively create a 12-tier payment model for traumatic injury. The TCAA believes this model could improve care quality and reduce costs by incentivizing the movement of trauma patients to the right level of definitive care. Episode-based care could also serve as an incentive for providing more efficient care and reducing unnecessary expenditures. Full Story