Thirty-Day Readmissions — Truth and Consequences — NEJM

Thirty-Day Readmissions — Truth and Consequences — NEJM

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 and implementing solutions for the “readmissions problem.”..........