Hospitals in large cities received higher readmission penalties

Researchers studying the impact of Medicare readmission penalties found that hospitals in large urban areas had consistently higher average penalties.

 

Researchers from Rush University in Chicago, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Wayne State University in Detroit examined CMS data from 2013 and 2014 regarding readmission penalties along with U.S. Census and socio-economic data for the cities with the largest populations. They found that hospitals in urban areas with lower education, employment, and household income rates received higher penalties.

 

Hospitals in New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Detroit; and Chicago had the highest average readmission penalties, according to the researchers.