Not Paying for Readmissions Spurs Improvements in Patient Care

It is estimated that 75% of the Medicare admissions readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge were preventable. In total, the cost of readmissions to Medicare is approximately $17.4 billion annually.

Medicare's decision NOT to pay for preventable/avoidable readmissions to hospitals has gotten attention. Significant work is now being done by hospitals to put better discharge and/or transfer processes into place to better coordinate care, ensure patients have support systems at home and get needed followup services. A good example of how aligning payments with desired outcomes serves as the main "carrot or stick" to get action. And, a good example of how poor quality care drives high cost.

Click here to read the article. The clear connection between aligning payment with expected outcomes is in the last paragrah.

Patient Safety Incidents Cost $8.9 Billion Annually

Latest Health Grade's Patient Safety in American Hospitals study finds that there was little progress in reducing patient safety incidents in hospitals for Medicare patients in 2009. They estimate that these patient safety incidents added $8.9billion to the cost of health care in 2009 and that almost 100,000 Medicare patients died as a result of these incidents.Top performing hospitals had 43% fewer incidents than poorly performing hospitals.One more example of how costly poor quality is!!!

Click here to read an article about the report.

Find Out How Health Reform Impacts Self-Insured Employers

The dust is beginning to settle a little. Find out what we know now about how health reform impacts self-insured employers.  Click here to go to MBGH's Health Reform Updates website & download the Employer Implementation Summary provided by National Business Coalition on Health.

Corporations Push For Repeal of Redeuced Tax Deductions in Health Reform Law

Key corporations claim that health reform bill's repeal of employer tax deductions for retiree drug subsidies will hurt their bottom lines.

Click here to read the NY Times article.

Follow MBGH on Twitter!

   MBGH is now on Twitter! Help us grow our followers by clicking the twitter logo.

It's Coming Down to the Wire, Help Memphis Get Google Fiber!!

Show your support for Memphis to get Google Fiber. Go to http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options to complete a nomination for Memphis; join Google Fiber for Memphis, TN's Facebook page

Attend University of Memphis Health Law & Public Polcy Symposium, March 26

Click here for brochure and registration

Health Law and Public Policy:
An Introduction to America's Trillion Dollar Business

History will cement this week as the one which saw the passing of the most significant health law legislation in half a century. Join us for an up-to-the-minute discussion with national authorities never before brought together in Memphis, on The Health Care Ecosystem in Transition; Biomedical Research; Health Care and Economic Development; Health Information Management, Electronic Records and E-Discovery; Perspectives on Health Care Reform; and a Leadership Panel Discussion on Health Care and Public Policy. The day's program will close with an outstanding Leadership Panel comprised of the CEOs from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare, and St. Francis Healthcare. You don't want to miss this.

Friday, March 26, 2010

8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

To be held at the beautiful new downtown location of the

Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

One North Front Street

Memphis, Tennessee