Over the lifetime of the program, which was created under the ACA, 2,920 of 3,139 general acute care hospitals have been penalized at least once.
Additionally, 1,288 have been punished in all 10 years.
Only 219 eligible hospitals have avoided any payment reductions since the program’s start, but more than 2,000 hospitals are exempt from the program.
Under the program, CMS penalizes hospitals when more Medicare patients return for a new admission within 30 days of discharge than the government decides is appropriate.
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