Massachusetts State Officials to End Medicaid Reimbursements for Excessive Readmissions at Certain Facilities

On December 1, 2010, the Massachusetts Executive Office for Health and Human Services (EOHHS) released plans to stop paying hospitals with readmission rates higher than the statewide average of 30 days. The state will also stop paying for potentially preventable readmissions. EOHHS recently sent hospitals in the state their baseline readmission scores. The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy defines a potentially preventable readmission as an admission to an acute care facility that follows a prior acute care admission; is clinically related to the prior admission; and could have been prevented through proper adherence to applicable patient safety . . .