Renacci points out problems with hospital readmission penalties under Obamacare

During last week’s hearing of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) discussed more problems with the president’s health care law, pointing out the uneven results experienced by Obamacare’s hospital readmission penalties.

The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), established as an element of Obamacare legislation, is designed to reduce the preventable readmission rate of hospitals by imposing harsh penalties on hospitals which “underperform.”

“It is estimated that $18 billion per year is wasted on avoidable readmissions of Medicare patients alone,” said Renacci. “As a former businessman in the health industry, I support the goal of this program – to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions. However, the implementation of this program has been problematic, especially for hospitals serving low-income patients – many of which are in my district. Those hospitals serving the neediest patients should not be penalized for doing so.”

Not all readmissions are preventable,  witnesses at the hearing said; and there is a clear correlation between the income level of a patient and the rate of readmission. This correlation suggests the need for the program to be modified to ensure it does not unfairly penalize hospitals in low-income areas.

“My bill, the Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program (H.R. 1343), would address this problem by creating an adjustment based on the demographics of the patients these hospitals serve to ensure they are able to spend their money on high-quality care, rather than federal fines,” Renacci added.

The hearing included testimony from MedPAC, an independent Congressional agency that provides policy analysis and advice regarding Medicare, which indicated concerns existing with hospital payment, rural health and beneficiary access to care.