Journal Article

Thirty-Day Readmissions — Truth and Consequences

Jha, Ashish K, Joynt, Karen E

2012

Overview

Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals with “worse than expected” 30-day readmission rates will be penalized by Medicare. But though a focus on readmissions may have good face validity, the policy attention to 30-day readmissions may be misguided. Reducing hospital readmission rates has captured the imagination of U.S. policymakers because readmissions are common and costly and their rates vary — and at least in theory, a reasonable fraction of readmissions should be preventable. Policymakers therefore believe that reducing readmission rates represents a unique opportunity to simultaneously improve care and reduce costs. As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Congress directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to penalize hospitals with “worse than expected” 30-day readmission rates. This part of the law has stimulated hospitals, professional societies, and independent organizations to invest substantial resources in finding . . .

• Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
• Subject: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (U.S.) / Community / Economics, Hospital / Health Policy / Hospitalization / Hospitals / Humans / Insurance, Health, Reimbursement - standards / Medicare / Mental disorders / Mortality / Patient Readmission - economics / Patient Readmission - standards / Patient Readmission - statistics & numerical data / Patients / Quality Improvement / Quality Indicators, Health Care / Rate Setting and Review - legislation & jurisprudence / Rate Setting and Review - methods / Time Factors / United States