Bundled Payment Program for Employer Plans Reduces Costs
A bundled payment program run by San Francisco-based digital health company Carrum Health resulted in an average per-episode savings of more than $16,000 per orthopedic or surgical procedure performed by a provider in the bundled program, a RAND Corp. analysis found.
Overall, counting both procedures reimbursed under the bundled payment program and procedures reimbursed outside the program, per-episode costs for the three procedures studied — spinal fusion, major joint replacement and bariatric surgery — were 10.7% lower overall, on average, than costs for comparable procedures prior to implementation of the program. That added up to a total savings of $4,229 per episode, the study found.