PURPOSE: This study assesses the impact of Advance Directives (ADs) on end-of-life costs, drawing on administrative data from a single health care organization located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Independent Care Health Plan, or iCare). BACKGROUND: As part of ongoing Medicaid and Medicare rate reform efforts, greater use of ADs among plans and providers is being considered to better control costs and enhance health outcomes. APPROACH: Drawing on decedent-member descriptive and cost data, OLS regression is used to analyze the relationship between AD use and subsequent costs for a single health care plan. RESULTS: The analysis does not provide evidence of a significant relationship between AD use and end-of-life costs when patient health is controlled for the sample. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence within the iCare data to support a relationship between the presence of ADs and lower end-of-life costs.
PURPOSE: This study assesses the impact of Advance Directives (ADs) on end-of-life costs, drawing on administrative data from a single health care organization located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Independent Care Health Plan, or iCare). BACKGROUND: As part of ongoing Medicaid and Medicare rate reform efforts, greater use of ADs among plans and providers is being considered to better control costs and enhance health outcomes. APPROACH: Drawing on decedent-member descriptive and cost data, OLS regression is used to analyze the relationship between AD use and subsequent costs for a single health care plan. RESULTS: The analysis does not provide evidence of a significant relationship between AD use and end-of-life costs when patient health is controlled for the sample. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence within the iCare data to support a relationship between the presence of ADs and lower end-of-life costs.
Authors: Joel S Weissman; Amanda J Reich; Holly G Prigerson; Priscilla Gazarian; Jennifer Tjia; Dae Kim; Phil Rodgers; Adoma Manful Journal: JAMA Health Forum Date: 2021-07-30
Authors: Isamme N AlFayyad; Mohamad A Al-Tannir; Waleed A AlEssa; Humariya M Heena; Amani K Abu-Shaheen Journal: PLoS One Date: 2019-04-12 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Billingsley Kaambwa; Julie Ratcliffe; Sandra L Bradley; Stacey Masters; Owen Davies; Craig Whitehead; Catherine Milte; Ian D Cameron; Tracey Young; Jason Gordon; Maria Crotty Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2015-12-09 Impact factor: 2.655