Robert Town, Ph.D.

Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center

Phone: 612.626.4698
E-mail: rjtown@umn.edu

Completed Projects (1)

Acute and Post-Acute Care Bundled Payments and Care Coordination in Rural Environments, Lead researcher
Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Health services, Quality
The purpose of this project is to: 1) Identify opportunities and potential unintended consequences for rural providers of current proposals for implementing bundled payments for acute and post-acute care episodes; 2) Describe modifications to current bundling proposals that will address rural-specific issues; and 3) Identify quality measures related to care coordination that are relevant for rural patients whose services are reimbursed by a bundled payment.

Publications (2)

Rural Issues Related to Bundled Payments for Acute Care Episodes (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Robert Town, Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, Shailendra Prasad, Jill Klingner, Christopher Dickerson
Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Medicare
Date: 06 / 2009
Bundling Medicare payments, i.e., providing a fixed payment for a set of acute and post-acute services, has been proposed as a way of encouraging providers to find innovative, cost reducing strategies to provide better coordinated care. This brief describes challenges to implementing bundled payments in rural settings and discusses potential contracting and reimbursement strategies to address these challenges.
Will Bundling Work in Rural America? Analysis of the Feasibility and Consequences of Bundled Payments for Rural Health Providers and Patients (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Robert Town, Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, Shailendra Prasad, Jill Klingner
Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Health policy, Hospitals and clinics, Quality
Date: 09 / 2011
This report and policy brief will (1) assess the financial and quality challenges—and potential unintended consequences for rural providers and patients—of implementing bundled payments for acute and post-acute care episodes; (2) explore the possible impact on quality of care delivered under a facility-physician bundled payment system; and (3) describe potential modifications to current bundling proposals and additional steps CMS could take that will help address rural-specific issues.

Topics Centers Researchers Other Resources Search		Robert Town, Ph.D. Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center Phone: 612.626.4698 E-mail: rjtown@umn.edu Completed Projects (1) Acute and Post-Acute Care Bundled Payments and Care Coordination in Rural Environments, Lead researcher Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) Topics: Health services, Quality The purpose of this project is to: 1) Identify opportunities and potential unintended consequences for rural providers of current proposals for implementing bundled payments for acute and post-acute care episodes; 2) Describe modifications to current bundling proposals that will address rural-specific issues; and 3) Identify quality measures related to care coordination that are relevant for rural patients whose services are reimbursed by a bundled payment. Publications (2) Rural Issues Related to Bundled Payments for Acute Care Episodes (Policy Brief) Author(s): Robert Town, Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, Shailendra Prasad, Jill Klingner, Christopher Dickerson Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Medicare Date: 06 / 2009 Bundling Medicare payments, i.e., providing a fixed payment for a set of acute and post-acute services, has been proposed as a way of encouraging providers to find innovative, cost reducing strategies to provide better coordinated care. This brief describes challenges to implementing bundled payments in rural settings and discusses potential contracting and reimbursement strategies to address these challenges. Will Bundling Work in Rural America? Analysis of the Feasibility and Consequences of Bundled Payments for Rural Health Providers and Patients (Policy Brief) Author(s): Robert Town, Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, Shailendra Prasad, Jill Klingner Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center Topics: Health policy, Hospitals and clinics, Quality Date: 09 / 2011 This report and policy brief will (1) assess the financial and quality challenges—and potential unintended consequences for rural providers and patients—of implementing bundled payments for acute and post-acute care episodes; (2) explore the possible impact on quality of care delivered under a facility-physician bundled payment system; and (3) describe potential modifications to current bundling proposals and additional steps CMS could take that will help address rural-specific issues.