Sources:  Kaiser Health News; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Is Hospital Malpractice a problem? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services thinks so.  It wants hospitals to curb its patient re-admissions starting this fall, or pay the price, Kaiser Health News reported. CMS will hope to recoup about $280 million in payments from about 2,200 hospitals beginning in October. The program’s focus is upon reducing nationwide readmissions resulting from hospital malpractice.  KHNsuggests that hospitals in New Jersey, New York, the District of Columbia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Illinois and Massachusetts will be hit the hardest. Facilities that treat low-income patients will also be hit the hardest.
Under the penalty guidelines and as part of the data analysis, KHN said that 278 hospitals will likely face the harshest recoupment–a 1 percent loss of their base Medicare payments for “never-events” and preventable events -hospital malpractice.  Another 1,978 hospitals will face smaller recoupments.  Some of those facing recoupments are well-known academic medical centers, such as Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, reported WNYC, and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The penalties are part of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, and focuses on Medicare and Medicaid patients who are readmitted within 30 days of a prior hospital admission. However, studies have suggested that despite the looming penalties, the nationwide readmission rates continue.

The Lewis Law Firm handles cases of hospital infection and hospital malpractice in Philadelphia and New Jersey .  Call for FREE consultation today.  Have you or a loved one been the victim of hospital maplractice?  Contact the Lewis Law Firm for a free consultation.

Posted by: David M. Schwadron, Esquire