Hospital Readmissions Reduction Pprogram

Clinical significance

• authorizes adjusted payments to hospitals when 30 day readmission rates are higher than expected for:
  • myocardial infarction
  • heart failure
  • pneumonia
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • hip replacement or knee replacement
  • coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)

Notes

• the program does NOT coordinate support for Medicare beneficiaries after hospital discharge
• hospital admissions are down, but observation stays & emergency department visits are up since implementation

Additional terms

• complicated transition; hospital readmission; bounce back