UCLA Bacteria Outbreak Highlights The Challenges Of Curbing Infections
The lethal infection is one of three that the CDC says urgently require close monitoring and prevention to halt their spread.
Some Seeking Insurance Told They Didn’t Qualify, Others Balked At Cost, Poll Finds
Confusion about federal assistance stymied many from getting insurance in the first year of the health law marketplaces.
HHS Pledges To Quicken Pace Toward Quality-Based Medicare Payments
As part of their effort to improve quality while cutting costs, federal officials announced Monday that they want programs such as accountable care organizations and bundled care to account for 50 percent of traditional Medicare spending by the end of 2018.
1,700 Hospitals Win Quality Bonuses From Medicare, But Most Will Never Collect
Penalties for readmissions and patient injuries erase bonuses hospitals earn for meeting stiff quality criteria. Fewer than 800 will end up with higher payments.
Alaska Health Plan Premiums, Highest In Nation, Are Triple Those In Phoenix
A look at the 10 least and 10 most expensive places for health insurance shows a wide gap in prices for the same type of coverage.
Is Your Heart Doctor In? If Not, You Might Be Better Off.
A new study finds that high-risk heart patients in teaching hospitals do better during the times that cardiologists gather for national conventions.
Hospital-Acquired Condition Penalties By State
Medicare is reducing payments to 721 hospitals with high rates of infections or other medical complications. About 1,400 hospitals, including all in Maryland, are excluded from the program and Medicare did not assess their rates of patient harm.
721 Hospitals Penalized For Patient Safety
Medicare is penalizing 721 hospitals with high rates of potentially avoidable mistakes that can harm patients, known as “hospital-acquired conditions.” Penalized hospitals will have their Medicare payments reduced by 1 percent over the fiscal year that runs from October 2014 through September 2015. To determine penalties, Medicare evaluated three types of HACs. One is central-line associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSIs. The second is catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTIs. The final one, Serious Complications, is based on eight types of injuries, including blood clots, bed sores and falls. Here are the hospitals that are being penalized:
Medicare Cuts Payments To 721 Hospitals With Highest Rates Of Infections, Injuries
The 1 percent penalty, mandated by the health law, will hit one of every seven hospitals in the country and fall particularly hard on academic medical centers.
Patients At Seven Miami-Dade Hospitals Are More Likely To Develop Infections
The data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks six types of frequently occurring infections in hospitals as part of an effort to reduce them.
New ACO Rules Would Delay Penalties An Extra Three Years
The government’s proposed rule addresses many concerns of accountable care organizations.
More Competition Helps Restrain Premiums In Federal Health Marketplace
In counties that are adding at least one insurer next year, average premiums for the least expensive silver plan are rising 1 percent on average, compared to 7 percent in counties where the number of insurers is not changing, KHN analysis finds.
How The Health Law Is Using Medicare To Improve Hospital Quality
Among the tools: penalties for admitting patients too soon after they were discharged and a focus on reducing hospital-acquired infections.
Hospitals Struggle To Beat Back Serious Infections
KHN reporter Jordan Rau spoke on NPR about data that say about 75,000 patients per year die from infections they got in the hospital. Nearly 700 hospitals around the U.S. have higher than expected infection rates.
Hospitals’ Struggles To Beat Back Familiar Infections Began Before Ebola Arrived
Each year about 75,000 patients die from infections they caught in the hospital. A KHN analysis of federal data shows that nearly 700 hospitals have higher than expected rates of infection for at least one condition.
Many Medicare Outpatients Pay More At Rural Hospitals, Federal Report Says
An investigation by the HHS inspector general says beneficiaries getting the treatments at “critical access” hospitals pay between two and six times more than those at other hospitals.
Medicare Fines 2,610 Hospitals In Third Round Of Readmission Penalties
Although fewer patients are now returning to the hospital within a month, the fines reached a record level this year.
A Guide To Medicare’s Readmissions Penalties And Data
The methodology behind KHN’s analysis of the third year of the Medicare penalty program.
Many Rural Hospitals Are Excluded From Government’s Push For Better Quality
A quarter of the nation’s hospitals are exempt from penalties, quality bonuses and other payment reforms.
One-Quarter Of ACOs Save Enough Money To Earn Bonuses
About a quarter of the 243 groups of hospitals and doctors that banded together as accountable care organizations under the Affordable Care Act saved Medicare enough money to earn bonuses, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Those 64 ACOs earned a combined $445 million in bonuses, the agency said. Medicare saved $372 […]
