Abstract
Almost one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility were readmitted to the hospital within thirty days; this cost Medicare $4.34 billion in 2006. Especially in an elderly population, cycling into and out of hospitals can be emotionally upsetting and can increase the likelihood of medical errors related to care coordination. Payment incentives in Medicare do not encourage providers to coordinate beneficiaries' care. Revising these incentives could achieve major savings for providers and improved quality of life for beneficiaries.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Aged
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.
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Health Policy
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Health Services for the Aged / economics*
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Hospitalization* / statistics & numerical data
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Hospitalization* / trends
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Humans
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Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / economics*
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Length of Stay
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Medicaid / economics*
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Medicaid / statistics & numerical data
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Medical Errors / prevention & control
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Medicare / economics*
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Medicare / statistics & numerical data
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Patient Discharge
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Patient Readmission* / statistics & numerical data
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Patient Readmission* / trends
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Skilled Nursing Facilities / statistics & numerical data*
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Skilled Nursing Facilities / trends
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State Health Plans / statistics & numerical data
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United States