Pittsburgh is known for many things. It is home to the Steelers and their 1976 defense the “Iron Curtain,” the Pirates or “Bucks” and their return to the limelight, the Penguins, the region’s distinct spoken dialect commonly known as “Pittsburghese,” and its flourishing medical and educational institutions. But many do not realize that Pittsburgh and the surrounding region is home to the highest proportion of persons 65 and older than any other county in the United States. Thus, Pittsburgh’s large elderly population relies heavily on Medicare for its health care needs while providers rely heavily on Medicare reimbursement rates for compensation.
I accepted a position here at CMU as a summer research assistant, focusing on one specific part of the Medicare reimbursement system, called the Wage Index. The Wage Index calculates rates based on predetermined boundaries derived from census data and is intended to account for the varying cost of living throughout the country. I am investigating Pittsburgh’s Wage Index value because many in the health care profession feel it is not representative of the cost of living in the region.
I have spent the last 7 weeks learning the intricate reimbursement system while sorting a seemingly endless amount of data to calculate and reconstruct the Wage Index, a variable whose governing rules can change drastically year to year.
So far it has been a great experience and I have enjoyed working under the guidance of our former program director, Dr. David J. Dausey. If our data analysis is successful it could be used in support of Wage Index reform and a push to make reimbursement more fair and equitable.
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