Medicare data shows 17 Ohio hospitals lag on readmission rates

New Medicare data shows that 17 Ohio hospitals have readmission rates higher than their national peers, according to a report released this week (Source: “Genesis among 17 Ohio hospitals with high readmission rates, Medicare says,” Zanesville Times Recorder, Jan. 8, 2014).

The findings comes as the government continues to push hospitals to improve by paying them for the quality of their treatment in some situations rather than the number of patients they treat. The Ohio hospitals had higher rates of Medicare patients who returned within a month for unplanned reasons. They were among about 8 percent of hospitals nationwide with poorer than average results, according to the new data.

Overall readmission rates are significant because the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress, has encouraged lawmakers to use this measure when determining financial penalties for hospitals under a key provision in the ACA.