Rehospitalizations among Patients in the Medicare Fee-for-Service Program

Reducing rates of re-hospitalization has attracted attention from policymakers as a way to improve quality of care and reduce costs.

A recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that one in five Medicare patients discharged from the hospital was readmitted within a month. One in three was readmitted within three months. Readmission is costly. In 2004, the cost to Medicare for unplanned readmissions was $17.4 billion.

To curb the costs, Congress and the Obama administration are considering bonus payments to hospitals with low readmission rates and penalties on those with high rates.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is considering giving bonuses to hospitals for lowering readmission rates. Current law prohibits hospitals from paying doctors for reducing hospital services, even if the goal is to provide more efficient care.

Read the full article in The New England Journal of Medicine, or click here:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/360/14/1418