Increased Risk Following Knee Replacement When Hospital Stay Shorter
No previous research has quantified and compared the costs and outcomes between total knee replacement (TKR) patients who have differing lengths of hospital stay following surgery. In new research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), investigators identified Medicare patients who had undergone TKR between 1997 and 2009. The patients were separated into the following groups: outpatient, 1-day inpatient, 2-day inpatient, 3- or 4-day inpatient (standard of care), and 5 plus day inpatient.
Knee Replacement May Lower A Patient's Risk For Mortality And Heart Failure
New research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) highlights the benefits of total knee replacement (TKR) in elderly patients with osteoarthritis, including a lower probability of heart failure and mortality. Investigators reviewed Medicare records to identify osteoarthritis patients, separating them into two groups - those who underwent TKR to relieve symptoms, and those who did not. Outcomes of interest included average annual Medicare payments for related care, mortality, and new diagnoses of congestive heart failure, diabetes and depression.
Study Finds Ending Individual Mandate Would Not Dramatically Hike Insurance Prices
A new RAND Corporation study concludes that eliminating a key part of health care reform that requires all Americans to have health insurance would sharply lower the number of people gaining coverage, but would not dramatically increase the cost of buying policies through new insurance exchanges. The study comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in March regarding the constitutionality of the individual mandate, a key provision of 2010's Affordable Care Act. According to estimates created using a microsimulation model created by the RAND Comprehensive Assessment of Reform Efforts (COMPARE) program, the number of Americans predicted to get coverage in 2016 under the Affordable Care Act would drop from 27 million to 15 million if the individual mandate were eliminated.