The week began with the start of Medicare's penalties for hospitals with higher-than-average rates of heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients who leave the hospital only to return within 30 days.
But Medicare is not the only payer to penalize hospitals for repeat visitors. Medicaid, in some states, also cuts hospital payments based on readmissions. As we reported in late September, changes to Medicaid policy have increased financial incentives for hospitals to reduce hospital admissions.
Now Massachusetts Medicaid is scheduled to increase its readmission penalties starting Nov. 1. The state began in 2011 to cut payments by 2.2% for hospitals with excess readmissions.
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