AHRQ report outlines top 10 conditions linked to Medicaid readmissions

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality outlines the cost and incidence of conditions associated with Medicaid readmissions (Source: “The Costs of 10 Top Medicaid Readmission Conditions,” Becker’s Hospital Review, April 18, 2014)

Collectively, the 10 most common readmission conditions cost $2.06 billion in 2011. According to the AHRQ report, the expenses ranged from $86 million for early or threatened labor, tied to 19,000 readmissions, to $319 million for septicemia, with 17,600 readmissions.

Overall, Medicaid readmission costs pale in comparison to Medicare. While the 10 most common Medicaid readmissions cost hospitals a little more than than $2 billion in 2011, congestive heart failure — the most common and expensive Medicare readmission — cost $1.75 billion alone.