The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released early look hospital-specific reports for the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP).
In fiscal year (FY) 2019, the HRRP will use a stratified methodology to account for socioeconomic status, a provision finalized in the FY 2018 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Rule, in accordance with the 21st Century Cures Act. Under the new methodology, CMS will assess penalties for excess readmissions based on hospitals’ performance compared with other hospitals that have similar proportions of Medicaid patients and dual-eligible Medicare patients.
The reports provide estimated hospital-level proportions of dual-eligible patients, peer group assignments, and payment adjustment information for the stratified methodology using FY 2018 data.
CMS also released a user guide and frequently asked questions document about the new methodology and how the agency calculated results.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
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