CMS Report to Congress for the Post Acute Care Payment Reform Demonstration (PAC-PRD)

The Post Acute Care Payment Reform Demonstration (PAC-PRD) was created in response to section 5008 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Public Law 109-171.  The associated report to Congress provides a review of key findings and activities of the PAC-PRD.  The report describes the development and testing of a uniform patient assessment instrument (CARE: Continuity Assessments Record and Evaluation) as mandated in the initiating legislation.  It then reviews findings related to predicting patient-specific resource intensity across post-acute care (PAC) settings.  The four PAC settings examined were Long Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), and Home Health Agencies (HHAs).  The report then examines selected outcomes of interest including functional change and hospital readmissions.

The Report to Congress is available here:  http://www.cms.gov/Reports/Downloads/Flood_PACPRD_RTC_CMS_Report_Jan_2012.pdf

Supplemental materials to the RTC are also available in document “Post Acute Care Payment Reform Demonstration (PAC-PRD) Report to Congress Supplement--Interim Report.”  This associated report provides extensive information and results that underlie the findings included in the CMS Report to Congress. 

The Report to Congress Supplement—can be found here: http://www.cms.gov/Reports/Downloads/GAGE_PACPRD_RTC_Supp_Materials_May_2011.pdf