Complimentary from the publishers of ReadmissionsNews                December, 2013
	"Because readmission penalties are specific to Medicare Fee For Service patients, (age 65 and older), it is not likely the ACA implementation will impact a hospital’s readmission rate and penalty significantly as a result. However, the all-payor readmission rate for a hospital is likely to see an increase in the initial year of ACA as those who have not been covered and have been holding off seeking treatment may seek services after January 1, 2014. The true impact of the ACA on hospitals that will emerge as a media initiative by mid-year in 2014, is the impact on the consumer of the trend toward increased patient financial responsibility in the new plans being offered by the exchanges. Most exchanges are offering tiered levels of coverage to consumers, but each of the tiers has higher than traditional patient responsibility (ranging in most cases from 30 to 40 percent of the costs). Thus, when consumers realize they are on the hook for high dollar balances, the media will start to blame the hospitals as they have increasingly done in recent years, instead of the insurers that developed these new plans as a result of the ACA.” Josh Luke, PhD, FACHE, Vice President, Post Acute Services, Torrance Memorial Health System; Founder, National Readmission Prevention Collaborative
	"Our experience has shown that in-home care management by nurse practitioners or physicians reduces average acute admits by 64% among Medicare beneficiaries compared to a similar, risk-adjusted control group. The bed-day reduction occurs through a combination of fewer readmissions and shorter subsequent inpatient stays." Excerpted from: Readmissions News, Volume 2, Number 12, December 2013, "Editor's Corner: Four Steps to Success in Readmission Reduction and Value-Based Contracting"
	Using Technology to Reduce Readmissions Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), December 2013
	Why readmissions penalties might be working: 49 states report progress The Advisory Board Company, December 10, 2013
	30-day readmissions drop by 20% with care transition planning Health IT Analytics, December 10, 2013
	Reducing Readmissions: How a MacArthur "Genius" is Revolutionizing Care Becker's Hospital Review, December 4, 2013
	Using the EHR to automatically identify patients at risk for 30-day readmission
	Journal of Hospital Medicine, abstract only, December 2013
	Improved Medicare patient nutrition may reduce readmissions Healthcare Payer News, November 19, 2013
	Using Combat Medics as Coaches By Nathan L. Anspach, MA, FACHE and Diane Mayer, MA, FACHE The Teachable Moment in Readmissions by Adam Husney, MD The Editor’s Corner: Miles Snowden, MD, MPH, CEBS on Four Steps to Success in Readmission Reduction and Value-Based Contracting Coordination of Evidence-based Interventions and Team Communications Key to Readmission Reduction at Marin General Hospital by Susan Cumming, MD, SFHM; Terry Winter, RN; and Siva Subramanian, PhD Thought Leader’s Corner: “Is there a 'woodwork' effect vis-à-vis inpatient care, i.e., will the entry of previously uninsured individuals into the system via the exchanges present increased demand for hospital admissions and therefore possible readmissions?” Industry News with briefs regarding CMS; MedPAC; American College of Cardiology; Health Affairs; BMJ; and CHRITUS Health Catching up with … James L. (Larry) Holly, MD Click here to view page one of this issue Click here to subscribe to Readmissions News, or find out more
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