Latest News On Readmissions

Latest California Healthline Stories

Medicare Punishes 2,499 Hospitals for High Readmissions

The federal government’s hospital penalty program finishes its first decade by lowering payments to nearly half the nation’s hospitals for readmitting too many Medicare patients within a month. Penalties, though often small, are credited with helping reduce the number of patients returning for another Medicare stay within 30 days.

Medicare Fines Half of Hospitals for Readmitting Too Many Patients

The penalties are the ninth round of a program created as part of the Affordable Care Act’s broader effort to improve quality and lower costs. The average reduction in federal payments is 0.69%, with 613 hospitals receiving a penalty of 1% or more.

New Round of Medicare Readmission Penalties Hits 2,583 Hospitals

Starting today, Medicare is keeping half a billion dollars in payments from 83% of general hospitals for having too many patients come back. As in the past, California hospitals were penalized less frequently and less severely than the national average.