![\"images](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.theeldercarefirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/images-4.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe federal agency that administers Medicare<\/a> will be reducing its reimbursement payments to 2,225 U.S. hospital this fiscal year, as a result of their insufficient progress on reducing readmission rates for the patients they treat.<\/p>\n (Related:\u00a0Employment of People with Disabilities Initiative<\/a>)<\/p>\n According to an analysis by Kaiser Health News<\/a> of data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services<\/a>, the payment reductions aren\u2019t significant — the average penalty is 0.38 percent, and the penalties amassing $227 million.<\/p>\n However, close to two-thirds of the hospitals that are subject to readmission guidelines are affected, indicating how difficult it can be to improve treatment outcomes for patients that are seriously ill.<\/p>\n (Related:\u00a0Elder Home Care Workers – A Growing Workforce<\/a>)<\/p>\n There are some health care reformers that have strongly contended that readmission rates are a meaningful measure of both the quality and cost of hospital care. Often times readmission can be a sign that a patient didn\u2019t adhere to (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The federal agency that administers Medicare will be reducing its reimbursement payments to 2,225 U.S. hospital this fiscal year, as a result of their insufficient progress on reducing readmission rates for the patients they treat. (Related:\u00a0Employment of People with Disabilities…<\/span><\/p>\n