SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Eight South Dakota hospitals will receive less in Medicare payments in 2022 because of high readmissions or infections.
Medicare is reducing its payments to 2,499 hospitals, or 47% of all facilities. That’s according to Kaiser Health News.
The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) was created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act and began in October 2012 as an effort to make hospitals pay more attention to patients after they leave. Readmissions occurred with regularity — for instance, nearly a quarter of Medicare heart failure patients ended up back in the hospital within 30 days in 2008 — and policymakers wanted to counteract the financial incentives hospitals had in getting more business from these boomerang visits.
Most of the penalties for high readmissions were less than 1%, but one hospital, the Dunes Surgical Hospital in Dakota Dunes will be docked 2.3% in Medicare payments next year.
Three of the eight hospitals will also have their Medicare reimbursements reduced by 1% for infections, also known as “hospital-acquired conditions.”
Becker’s Hospital Review says 82% of the 3,046 hospitals CMS evaluated were assessed a penalty. In fiscal year 2021, 83 percent of hospitals evaluated in the country were penalized.
SOUTH DAKOTA HOSPITALS TO BE DOCKED IN 2022:
Avera McKennan, Sioux Falls: 0.19% decrease in reimbursements for high readmissions.
Avera St. Luke’s, Aberdeen: 0.05% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions.
Avera St. Mary’s, Pierre: 0.97% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions.
Brookings Health System: 0.22% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions. 1% decrease for hospital-acquired conditions.
Dunes Surgical Hospital, Dakota Dunes: 2.3% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions.
Monument Health, Rapid City: 0.16% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions. 1% decrease for hospital-acquired conditions.
Monument Health, Spearfish: 0.86% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions.
Prairie Lakes Health, Watertown: 0.13 decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions.
Sanford Health, Aberdeen: 0.44% decrease in reimbursement for high readmissions. 1% decrease for hospital-acquired conditions
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