In a study of four New York state hospitals reported March 9 in Health Affairs, the average cost of a hospital admission for Medicaid patients with certain advanced diseases was $6,900 less for patients who received palliative care. Palliative care recipients spent less time in intensive care, were less likely to die in the ICU, and were more likely to receive hospice referrals than a matched group of patients who received usual care, the study found.
At the four hospitals in the study, palliative care consultation teams cared for about 4% of total Medicaid admissions. The authors estimate New York's Medicaid program could save $84 million to $252 million a year if every hospital in the state with 150 or more beds had a palliative care consultation team.
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