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.
While hospital readmissions are declining, there are serious questions about how the HRRP assesses penalties that affect the fairness and long-term sustainability of the program.
A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers March 10 introduced legislation that the AHA said would improve the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) by factoring sociodemographic status into hospital readmission rates.
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Reps. Jim Renacci (R-OH) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) today introduced AHA-supported legislation (S. 688/H.R. 1343) that would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to adjust a hospital’s performance in the Medicare Hospital…