DataPoint: Medicare Hospital Readmission Penalties

Fiscal year (FY) 2017 saw 13 percent more hospitals penalized than in FY 2013. Under the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), hospitals with readmission rates that exceed the national average are penalized. High rates of readmission are given greater penalties. Only 1.8 percent of all hospitals were penalized at the highest rate of 3 percent. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, Medicare penalties on hospitals for readmissions increased to $528 million, $108 million more than the 2016 total.

Hospital readmission rates have declined every year since 2012. Median readmission rates were higher in New York State than the national medians over fiscal years 2013-2015. New York’s median readmission rate was 20.3 percent, while the national median was 15.9 percent. During that same period, hospitals in the New York City region had the highest median readmission rate in the state: 22.5 percent.

Contact: Ken Allison, kallison@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8820