The government will penalize 2,597 hospitals this year for having a high number of readmissions, according to Kaiser Health News.
Here are five things to know:
1. Medicare launched its Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in October 2012, which led to a decline in national readmission rates.
2. Some healthcare leaders critiqued the program, claiming the government should take into account various challenges hospitals face in treating low-income populations.
3. This year, Medicare anticipates penalties will reach $528 million, $108 million more than 2015 penalties. The increase is due to changes Medicare made in how it measures readmissions.
4. For the first time this year, Medicare measured readmissions for coronary artery bypass graft surgery in addition to its other conditions including hip and knee replacements, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, heart failure and heart attacks.
5. Hospitals can receive a maximum reduction of 3 percent. Medicare will give the maximum fine to 49 U.S. hospitals, with the average penalty totaling 0.73 percent of each Medicare payment. Last year, the average penalty was 0.61 percent of each Medicare payment.
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