Medicare Could Save Billions By Cutting Re-Hospitalization

clipped from blogs.wsj.com The percentage of patients who return to the hospital with in 30 days of being discharged could be cut dramatically, says an op-ed in this morning’s Boston Globe. A MedPAC study found that potentially preventable readmissions cost Medicare some $12 billion in 2005. Medicare could improve things for patients — and ultimately save money — by paying more for a few key steps, argue the authors, a couple senior folks from the Commonwealth Fund. One medical center lowered readmission rates for cardiac patients by 78% when nurses called the patients at home to check on key signs such as weight, swelling, and shortness of breath. Medicare should bundle funding for this kind of follow-up monitoring in its payment for the patient’s initial hospital stay, and “claw back” the initial payment for any patient who is re-admitted to any hospital within 30 days, the authors suggest.