In an article [1]on the recently implemented CMS Readmissions Reduction Program [2], Kaiser Health News quoted HCFO researcher Dr. Ashish Jha, Harvard University, on his impression of the Medicare penalties for hospitals with excess readmissions. Jha indicated that the readmissions penalties may be so steep that they discourage hospitals from addressing more pressing cost and quality issues, like reducing infections and surgical mistakes. Dr. Jha’s HCFO-funded study [3] focused on the impact of pay for performance on the quality of care in hospitals that serve poor and underserved patients.
Links:
[1] http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/November/27/medicare-spending-hospital-readmissions.aspx
[2] http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/AcuteInpatientPPS/Readmissions-Reduction-Program.html
[3] http://www.hcfo.org/grants/impact-pay-performance-hospitals-care-minorities-and-poor
[4] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/acute-care
[5] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/benefit-design
[6] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/disparities
[7] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/organization-and-supply-care
[8] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/quality-care
[9] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/vulnerable-populations