Readmissions for Medicare patients could more than double their cost of care, according to research released by the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation.
For the study, researchers examined claims for a 5 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2007 to 2009. In post-acute care episodes, patients whose episode contained at least one readmission cost Medicare twice as much, roughly $33,000 compared to $15,000 for patients without any readmissions. The researchers found when the number of chronic conditions per patient increased, so did the average number of readmissions, suggesting that a more complex patient is more likely to be readmitted.
The research aims to help policy-makers and the healthcare community better understand how hospital admissions and readmissions across post-acute, pre-acute and non-post acute care episodes affect the Medicare episode payment.
For the study, researchers examined claims for a 5 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2007 to 2009. In post-acute care episodes, patients whose episode contained at least one readmission cost Medicare twice as much, roughly $33,000 compared to $15,000 for patients without any readmissions. The researchers found when the number of chronic conditions per patient increased, so did the average number of readmissions, suggesting that a more complex patient is more likely to be readmitted.
The research aims to help policy-makers and the healthcare community better understand how hospital admissions and readmissions across post-acute, pre-acute and non-post acute care episodes affect the Medicare episode payment.
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