CMS Readmissions Penalties Don't Kill, Study Finds

A study published in JAMA Network Open found Medicare penalties for above-average readmission rates among persons admitted with acute myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, and pneumonia do not seem to have impacted mortality rates either in-hospital or following discharge, reports MedPage Today . In-hospital mortality rates fell among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for acute MI, heart failure, and pneumonia in the 2006-2014 period spanning the U.S. Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program's (HRRP) rollout in 2010-2012. Although rates of 30-day post-discharge also declined for acute MI but rose for heart failure and pneumonia, readmission penalties were not a factor. "While post-discharge mortality for heart failure and pneumonia rose over the study period, these increases began in 2007 and 2006, respectively, over three years before the announcement of the HRRP and three years before the implementation of its associated financial penalties," the team noted. "Moreover, neither the announcement of the HRRP nor its implementation was associated with an increase in the changes in post-discharge mortality rates," whereas there was a significant decrease in readmissions across the board. These findings correlate with a study presented at the American Heart Association meeting last fall, which found boosts in 30-day and 12-month mortality that offset the lowered readmissions from the HRRP.