Rehospitalization Rates Fell In First Year Of Medicare Penalties
During the first eight months of this year, fewer than 18 percent of Medicare patients ended up back in the hospital within a month of discharge, the lowest rate in years, the government reported Friday. This drop occurred during the first year that Medicare financially penalized hospitals for their readmission rates, and the government seized […]
With Three Weeks Left, Consumers Fear They May End Up Without Health Coverage On New Year’s Day
Insurance marketplace malfunctions have left some eager consumers in limbo as deadline to enroll nears. “I’m praying to God,” one says.
Medicare Seeks To Curb Spending On Post-Hospital Care
One out of every six dollars Medicare spent in the traditional fee-for-service program went to nursing and therapy for patients in rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, long-term care hospitals and in their own homes.
Troubled Health Law Rollout Damages Public Support
With its troubled rollout of the new insurance marketplaces, the Obama administration has achieved something Republicans have failed to do: seriously dent the popularity of the health care law, according to poll released Friday. Nearly half of Americans now hold an unfavorable view of the law and only a third like it, according to the […]
Safety-Net Hospitals Lose More Under Medicare’s Quality-Based Payments, Analysis Finds
Medicare’s effort to reward hospitals for quality is leaving many of the nation’s safety-net hospitals poorer, a new analysis finds. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, has found that hospitals treating the most low-income patients on average had their payment rates reduced by 0.09 percent in the latest […]
Methodology: How Value Based Purchasing Payments Are Calculated
The Kaiser Health News story and data on Medicare’s quality payment programs are based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) containing the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing and Readmissions Reduction Program adjustment factors for individual hospitals.
Nearly 1,500 Hospitals Penalized Under Medicare Program Rating Quality
The hospitals were rated on two-dozen measures, including surveys of patient satisfaction and death rates.
N.Y. Hospital Group Turns The Tables On Hospital Graders
Judge not, that ye be not judged. Irked by the growing number of report cards assessing the quality of hospitals, a New York state hospital association has taken this biblical admonition to heart by putting out a report card grading the quality of hospital graders. Five of the 10 report cards that were evaluated were given […]
Healthcare.gov Troubles Don’t Change Public’s View Of Health Law, Poll Finds
The public has a dim view of how the government has rolled out the health care law so far, but those stumbles have not changed people’s overall opinions of the law itself, a new poll finds. The Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 48 percent of people think the federal government has done a poor […]
Pay For Hospital CEOs Linked More To Technology, Patient Satisfaction Than Quality, Study Finds
Harvard researchers find no difference in CEO compensation between hospitals that rate well in providing good care and those that do poorly.
Looking For D.C.’s Best Hospitals? Here’s A Little Advice
A cottage industry of nonprofits and companies offer grades and rankings of hospitals. But they often measure different things.
Marketplace Plans Vary Widely In Costs, Within Counties And Across The Country
Even the same plan can carry dramatically different price tags in different areas
HHS Releases List Of Premium Rates For 36 States
Consumers trying to price health insurance in the new federally run health marketplaces may have been having trouble getting through the government’s main web site, healthcare.gov, but there’s a backdoor way to see the plans that are being offered in 36 states. The Department of Health and Human Services has posted premiums for more than […]
Three Critical Measures Of Marketplaces’ Impact Could Take Several Years To Assess
Initial reports on enrollment, premium prices and breadth of benefits likely will not reflect long-term prospects.
Where You Live Determines How Much You Pay For Health Insurance
In several states, consumers in high-cost areas will pay at least 50 percent more for the same type of coverage as those in lower-cost areas.
Poll Finds Most Unaware of Tuesday Opening of Health Insurance Marketplaces
A new poll finds a majority of the public — especially those lacking health coverage — is unaware that new insurance marketplaces created by the health law are slated to open this week. The poll also found deep skepticism of media coverage of the law, with more than half the public saying they don’t trust […]
Health Spending Over The Coming Decade Expected To Exceed Economic Growth
Government actuaries estimate that health care will account for 20 percent of gross domestic product by 2022.
Americans Hear More About Health Law, But Not From Most-Trusted Sources
The public’s awareness of new marketplaces is growing, but potential customers are getting much of their information about the health law from sources they don’t trust very much, according to a poll released Wednesday. Starting Oct. 1, people lacking insurance can begin enrolling in plans through online marketplaces, also called exchanges, which will be run by the […]
Armed With Bigger Fines, Medicare To Punish 2,225 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions
Penalties will total $227 million, but many hospitals will see their fines go down in October in the second year of the program.
Sources and Methodology: A Guide To Medicare’s Readmissions Data And KHN’s Analysis
Kaiser Health News’ data on hospital readmissions penalties comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
