Do discontinuities in marginal reimbursement affect inpatient psychiatric care in Germany?
Do discontinuities in marginal reimbursement affect inpatient psychiatric care in Germany? (Springer).
This paper examines the behaviour of mental health care providers in response to marginal payment incentives induced by a discontinuous per diem reimbursement schedule with varying tariff rates over the length of stay. The analyses use administrative data on 12,627 cases treated in 82 psychiatric hospitals and wards
in Germany. We investigate whether substantial reductions
in marginal reimbursement per inpatient day led to strategic discharge
behaviour once a certain length of stay threshold is exceeded.
[...]
The results indicate
that if regulators aim to set incentives to decrease LOS, this might not be
achieved by cuts in reimbursement over LOS.
Quelle: Springer, 09.11.2020
