Hospital Readmission Reduction Program
Hospitals with greater reductions in readmissions rates are no more likely to increase their observation-service use than other hospitals, according to a study reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study examines readmission and observation-service rates before, during and…
In a study published online this week in JAMA Pediatrics, adjusting for social determinants of health changed hospitals’ penalty status on a readmissions-based pay-for-performance measure. The study compared the performance of 43 children’s hospitals on a readmissions-based pay-for-performance…
The Issue
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) required the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to penalize hospitals for “excess” readmissions when compared to “expected” levels of readmissions. Since the start of the program on Oct. 1, 2012, hospitals have experienced nearly $1.9 billion…
Unplanned hospital readmissions following elective hip and knee replacements fell 20% and 23%, respectively, between 2009 and 2013 among adults aged 50-84 enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans provided by a large U.S. insurance carrier, according to a new study by the AARP Public Policy…
Medicare patients admitted to hospitals with higher readmission rates are more likely to have characteristics associated with a higher probability of readmission, according to a study published online today by JAMA Internal Medicine. “This finding suggests that Medicare is penalizing hospitals…
At an AHA-sponsored briefing today on Capitol Hill, hospital leaders called for changes in Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. Michael Langberg, M.D., senior vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, said hospitals shouldn’t be “…
A new AHA TrendWatch report calls for refinements in Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) that achieve the goal of reducing readmissions without unfairly penalizing hospitals.
AHA letter to Representative James Renacci expressing support for H.R. 1343, the Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015.