How Does Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Affect Risk Adjustment?
July 15th, 2021 - Aimee Wilcox, CPMA, CCS-P, CST, MA, MT, Director of Content
CMS recently announced the 53 Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs) that will be participating in the April 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Model. Among those participating is Clover Health Partners, who runs an in-home primary care program that has the potential to help Medicare improve health outcomes for beneficiaries while improving the financial stability of the Medicare program.
This model of in-home primary care is focused on caring for medically complex patients with an emphasis on improving health outcomes through proper in-home monitoring of medications, activities of daily living, and social determinants of health, while also reducing inpatient hospitalizations by gaining a deeper understanding of environmental and health factors. Clover aims to achieve these goals with a strategy that includes:
- A strong focus on monitoring social determinants of health, such as the patient’s living environment and access to nutritious food
- At-home evaluation and technology options
- Identification and organization of medications to reduce polypharmacy or overdose
- Collaboration with family members and other caregivers
- Transitional care services following hospital discharge to prevent readmission
- Individualized care plans and in-person access to trusted primary care providers who will communicate with the beneficiary’s provider, if desired.
Clover differs from the common brick-and-mortar or home health care models that rely on the documentation of a member’s health conditions over a focus on improving clinical outcomes and through the process of direct contracting with the CMS GPDC program, we may yet see additional companies providing specific, focused care for Medicare beneficiaries that may produce more accurate reporting than has been obtained through traditional risk adjustment reporting.
This increased focus on health improvement rather than disease identification has the potential to improve health outcomes rather than just identify them. For additional information on the CMS GPDC program or how it may improve beneficiary care and reduce risk adjustment scores, click here.
###
Questions, comments?
If you have questions or comments about this article please contact us. Comments that provide additional related information may be added here by our Editors.
Latest articles: (any category)
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare - A Medical Coder's PerspectiveDecember 26th, 2023 - Aimee WilcoxWe constantly hear how AI is creeping into every aspect of healthcare but what does that mean for medical coders and how can we better understand the language used in the codeset? Will AI take my place or will I learn with it and become an integral part of the process that uses AI to enhance my abilities?
Specialization: Your Advantage as a Medical Coding ContractorDecember 22nd, 2023 - Find-A-CodeMedical coding contractors offer a valuable service to healthcare providers who would rather outsource coding and billing rather than handling things in-house. Some contractors are better than others, but there is one thing they all have in common: the need to present some sort of value proposition in order to land new clients. As a contractor, your value proposition is the advantage you offer. And that advantage is specialization.
ICD-10-CM Coding of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)December 19th, 2023 - Aimee WilcoxChronic respiratory disease is on the top 10 chronic disease list published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Although it is a chronic condition, it may be stable for some time and then suddenly become exacerbated and even impacted by another acute respiratory illness, such as bronchitis, RSV, or COVID-19. Understanding the nuances associated with the condition and how to properly assign ICD-10-CM codes is beneficial.
Changes to COVID-19 Vaccines Strike AgainDecember 12th, 2023 - Aimee WilcoxAccording to the FDA, CDC, and other alphabet soup entities, the old COVID-19 vaccines are no longer able to treat the variants experienced today so new vaccines have been given the emergency use authorization to take the place of the old vaccines. No sooner was the updated 2024 CPT codebook published when 50 of the codes in it were deleted, some of which were being newly added for 2024.
Updated ICD-10-CM Codes for AppendicitisNovember 14th, 2023 - Aimee WilcoxWith approximately 250,000 cases of acute appendicitis diagnosed annually in the United States, coding updates were made to ensure high-specificity coding could be achieved when reporting these diagnoses. While appendicitis almost equally affects both men and women, the type of appendicitis varies, as dose the risk of infection, sepsis, and perforation.
COVID Vaccine Coding Changes as of November 1, 2023October 26th, 2023 - Wyn StaheliCOVID vaccine changes due to the end of the PHE as of November 1, 2023 are addressed in this article.
Medicare Guidance Changes for E/M ServicesOctober 11th, 2023 - Wyn Staheli2023 brought quite a few changes to Evaluation and management (E/M) services. The significant revisions as noted in the CPT codebook were welcome changes to bring other E/M services more in line with the changes that took place with Office or Other Outpatient Services a few years ago. As part of CMS’ Medicare Learning Network, the “Evaluation and Management Services Guide” publication was finally updated as of August 2023 to include the changes that took place in 2023. If you take a look at the new publication (see references below),....
