Care Volume Drops

Doctor and nurse looking at chart Image by Halcyon Marine Healthcare Systems from Pixabay

Utilization of health care has seen a dramatic drop since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Physician appointments have declined 50% even after the initiation of telehealth. Hospitals suffer from low admissions and fewer outpatient procedures.

In Health Affairs, Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy Michael E. Chernew, PhD, professor in health management and policy at the University of Michigan and director of the Center of Value-Based Insurance Design A. Mark Fendrick, MD, CEO of Signify Health Kyle Armbrester, MBA, and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Remedy François de Brantes, MBA, discuss the effects that COVID-19 has had on volume of care provided in the United States.

Analyzing a national sample of inpatient admissions from Medicare’s Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Initiative-Advanced, the team found that admissions, even for serious conditions, declined substantially between mid-March and early April.

Urgent and emergency care volumes for episodes such as acute myocardial infarction and strokes had largely recovered to pre-COVID levels by early June. However, numbers for less urgent procedures such as many orthopedic procedures remain low.

Because of the effects of COVID on all types of care, the mortality rate associated with COVID will extend beyond deaths directly due to the virus. The authors urge policymakers to prepare now for the continuing and future challenges posed by COVID-19 or future pandemics by exploring payment models and other supports that can be adapted during a pandemic to preserve access to all types of care.