Bundled Payment Program

For those coming out of the hospital to recover in an assisted living or adult day care center a new bundling program announced by the Department of Health and Human services (HHS) will seek to improve patient care at the hospital and post-release, marking the latest attempt by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to coordinate care and payment through the post-acute care phase of the care continuum.

HHS said doctors, hospitals and other health care providers can apply to participate in the bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative. "It will align payments for services delivered across an episode of care, such as heart bipass or hip replacement, rather than paying for services separately. Bundled payments will give doctors and hospitals new incentives to coordinate care, improve the quality of care, and save money for Medicare," HHS said in a statement.

The Bundled Payments initiative is being launched by the new Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, created by the Affordable Care Act to find better ways to provide and pay for health care to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

What is Adult Day Care

Adult day service centers provide a coordinated program of professional and compassionate services for adults in a community-based group setting. Services are designed to provide social and some health services to adults who need supervised care in a safe place outside the home during the day. They also afford caregivers respite from the demanding responsibilities of caregiving. Adult day centers generally operate during normal business hours five days a week. Some programs offer services in the evenings and on weekends. Although each facility may differ in terms of features, these general services are offered by most adult day centers:
Social activities

interaction with other participants in planned activities appropriate for their conditions
Transportation

door-to-door service
Meals and snacks

participants are provided with meals and snacks, those with special dietary needs are offered special meals
Personal care

help with toileting, grooming, eating and other personal activities of daily living
Therapeutic activities

exercise and mental interaction for all participants.

In general, there are three types of adult day centers: social (which provides meals, recreation and some health-related services), medical/health (which provides social activities as well as more intensive health and therapeutic services) and specialized (which provide services only to specific care recipients, such as those with diagnosed dementias or developmental disabilities. Caregivers typically select the type of center a care recipient attends based on the care needed.