BUSINESS NEWS – 

April 9, 2021 – IBC would pay the nonprofit, which for about 20 years had not accepted insurance, a single upfront fee for its members and then get out of the way, avoiding the usual policing of such care. But then IBC wouldn’t have to pay if the patient was readmitted during the three months after discharge.

The risk that Caron took paid off.

Data released Thursday at the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit by Caron and IBC showed that a relatively small 5.6% of the 71 IBC members treated at Caron in 2019 were readmitted within 90 days. The readmission rate for six other unidentified providers IBC had in its network ranged from 11.6% to 25.7%. The total number of patients treated was 645. “The outcomes speak for themselves. They’ve done a really nice job,” said Richard Snyder, IBC’s chief medical officer.

Snyder said that even though IBC pays Caron more upfront, the total cost is about the same because Caron’s patients are less likely to land back in the hospital. “If you look at it from a quality of life perspective, it’s better,” he said.

Details on how much IBC pays Caron were not disclosed.

more@Inquirer