The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Nursing Facility Residents (2012–2016) involves 7 Enhanced Care and Coordination Providers (ECCPs) that partner with 146 nursing facilities to implement clinical and procedural interventions aimed at reducing avoidable hospitalizations, improving quality of care, and decreasing health care costs for Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries. We present early evaluation results on the Initiative’s effects on hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) use, Medicare expenditures, and quality of care for long-stay residents in participating facilities. Difference-in-difference regression models were used to estimate the intervention effects on outcomes relative to a comparison group selected through propensity score matching. Preliminary results suggest evidence of ECCP intervention effects on reducing hospital and ED use and lowering Medicare spending, although the strength of these effects varies across the ECCPs; the effects on quality measures are unclear. The practice and policy implications of these findings will be discussed.
