Hilltop Presents before Maryland Long-Term Care Payment Advisory Committee

As part of its role to provide consultation and technical assistance to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Hilltop staff made two presentations before the Payment Advisory Committee Workgroup of the LTC Reform Committee on September 2, 2009. Charles J. Milligan, Jr., JD, Hilltop’s executive director, gave a presentation entitled, Nursing Facility Payment Policy: Comparing Maryland to Other States, in which he described findings from a Hilltop study that examined the Medicaid nursing facility (NF) payment systems of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and then compared Maryland’s payment system to that in other states. To view this presentation, click here. Anthony M. Tucker, PhD, Hilltop’s director of special projects, gave a presentation entitled Resource Utilization Groups (RUGs), in which he described RUGs, the LTC minimum data set (MDS) as it is used to assign RUGs to NF residents, and Hilltop’s process to refine MDS data to examine patterns of care. Hilltop refined MDS data were also used to show the distribution of Maryland’s NF residents, as well as measures of length of NF stays, by RUG level and payor. To view this presentation and accompanying exhibits, click here.

July 1, 2009