Medicare To Penalize 2,000+ Hospitals For Excess Readmissions

Starting October 1, 2012, Medicare will reduce its reimbursements to 2,211 hospitals (about two-thirds of the 3,367 hospitals affected by the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program) by up to one-percent because their 30-day readmission rates for patients with heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia were higher than expected. Medicare anticipates that the readmission payment adjustment will reduce its hospital payments during fiscal year 2013 by about 0.3%—a total of approximately $280 million. The program only affects hospitals serving more than 25 Medicare patients with each of the three targeted conditions.Of the 3 . . .