Medicare Fines Georgia Hospitals for Readmissions
Last week, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program kicked in as part of the Affordable Healthcare Act. Medicare began fining some 307 hospitals for readmitting patients within 30 days of discharge. Kevin Bloye, spokesperson for the Georgia Hospital Association, says the law has the potential to have a tremendous impact on the Georgia hospital community. “Over one-third of hospitals are losing money every year and this is another huge investment for them to incur.”
Bloye says the GHA’s biggest concern is the assumption that it is always the hospital’s fault. “Where we specifically have a problem is that readmission, according to this new policy, pretty much lays the blame at the feet of hospitals when in fact, there’s so many other factors that need to be accounted for when looking at hospital readmissions.” Factors, he says such as patients not following their physician’s instructions, or a lack of primary care in some locations.
The bi-product, says Bloye, “We’re likely to see a lot of hospitals developing better follow-up patient programs than they’ve had in the past.” He says it certainly is an incentive for hospitals to make sure they’re doing the right things, and he says, “providing the right care at the right time and doing the best they can do to care for patients.”
Many, but not all of the Georgia hospitals that have been fined already are in rural areas. Click here to see a list of the top ten Atlanta-area hospitals that are facing penalties.
9(MDAxODM0MDY4MDEyMTY4NDA3MzI3YjkzMw004))
Related
Top Stories
