Providing insurance to employees for damages stemming from workplace violence can increase your facility’s MediCare Value-Based Purchasing Program Scores, says Rich Kosinski, president of Specialty Insurance Advisors (SIA) in North Andover, MA, which provides such coverage. Even a bonus is possible.
Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and MediCaid implemented "value-based purchasing" (VBP), which equates to pay for performance, Kosinski explains. The better a healthcare facility’s performance assessment is on an annual basis, the higher a bonus payment that facility can earn.
These performance assessments are implemented via the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). In December 2012, one California hospital purchased Essential Professionals Insurance Coverage (EPIC) for a group of its nurses as a new benefit. Beginning in January 2013 the HCAHPS survey for this hospital was 74% dependent on nursing performance. The 2013 survey contained 25 questions, 19 of which were related to the performance and dedication of the nursing staff and how well they interacted with and responded to patients. In the first full year of coverage, the facility’s HCAHPS scores improved significantly, which resulted in a 0.24% bonus.
The hospital administration and management believe there was a correlation between adding the EPIC benefit and the nurses’ reported job satisfaction being reflected in their performance and therefore the survey results, Kosinski says.
When applied to the hospital’s $600 million Medicare reimbursement for 2013, the bonus amounted to $1.44 million. That was 20 times more than the hospital spent on the insurance coverage. That result prompted the hospital to purchase EPIC for every hospital employee.
An average EPIC Group Policy from SIA costs $200 per employee per year for $200,000 of coverage. This amount is equivalent to $1 per $1,000 of coverage per employee per year, Kosinski notes.
