In fiscal year 2016, 758 hospitals will have their Medicare payments reduced for being among those with the highest rates of hospital-acquired conditions.
Here are six things to know about the HAC Reduction Program and the hospitals receiving penalties.
1. Created under the Affordable Care Act, the HAC Reduction Program is aimed at preventing harm to patients.
2. In FY 2016, 758 out of 3,308 hospitals subject to the HAC Reduction Program are in the worst performing quartile. These facilities will have their Medicare payments reduced by 1 percent for all discharges occurring between Oct. 1, 2015, and Sept. 30, 2016.
3. CMS said 54 percent of the hospitals that were in the worst performing quartile in FY 2016 were also in that quartile in FY 2015.
4. The FY 2016 penalties will total approximately $364 million, according to CMS.
5 There are two domains used to score hospitals in FY 2016. The first domain includes the Patient Safety Indicator 90 Composite and is weighted at 25 percent. The second domain is weighted at 75 percent and includes three measures: central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and surgical site infections.
6. Hospitals are classified based on their measure results, with each hospital assigned a score between one and 10 for each measure. In FY 2016, hospitals with a total HAC score greater than 6.75 are subject to a payment reduction.
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