The Kwik-E-Smarts Challenge Question: Review carefully the chart shown below and address the following: a) Provide an interpretation of the data from the graph, b) based on your observations present a discussion of the likely issues that the Medicare eligible population will face in the 2021-2050 period if the same trend continues. 25 20 15 Medicare margin (in percent) 10 5 0 HHA SNF IRF LTCH LTCH with 285% qualifying cases 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 -5 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Note: HHA (home health agency), SNF (skilled nursing facility), IRF inpatient rehabilitation facility), LTCH (long-term care hospital). Medicare margin is calculated as (Medicare payments - Medicare costs) Medicare payments. The Pathway to SGR Reform Act of 2013 established separate payment methodologies in cases that quality as LTCH discharges and cases that do not. To quality as an LTCH discharge, the stay either must have been immediately preceded by an acute care hospital stay that included at least 3 days in an intensive care unit or have had an LTCH principal diagnosis indicating prolonged mechanical ventilation. We did not calculate margins for LTCH qualifying discharges before 2012 Source: Lawton Robert Burns: The U.S. Healthcare Ecosystem Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. The Kwik-E-Smarts Challenge Question: Review carefully the chart shown below and address the following: a) Provide an interpretation of the data from the graph, b) based on your observations present a discussion of the likely issues that the Medicare eligible population will face in the 2021-2050 period if the same trend continues. 25 20 15 Medicare margin (in percent) 10 5 0 HHA SNF IRF LTCH LTCH with 285% qualifying cases 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 -5 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Note: HHA (home health agency), SNF (skilled nursing facility), IRF inpatient rehabilitation facility), LTCH (long-term care hospital). Medicare margin is calculated as (Medicare payments - Medicare costs) Medicare payments. The Pathway to SGR Reform Act of 2013 established separate payment methodologies in cases that quality as LTCH discharges and cases that do not. To quality as an LTCH discharge, the stay either must have been immediately preceded by an acute care hospital stay that included at least 3 days in an intensive care unit or have had an LTCH principal diagnosis indicating prolonged mechanical ventilation. We did not calculate margins for LTCH qualifying discharges before 2012 Source: Lawton Robert Burns: The U.S. Healthcare Ecosystem Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved