CMS penalized more than half of hospitals participating in its Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) from fiscal year 2013 to 2017, according to a recent Health Affairs study. The average penalty increased from 0.29% in 2013 to 0.6% in 2017. Health Affairs referred to this as a modest penalty, bearing in mind that opportunities for penalization have increased since 2013.
This week’s Medicare updates include a MIPS Participation Status Letter, FY 2018 proposed rules for skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and more!
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) gave organizations and patients some relief from the stricter privacy rules protecting substance abuse and treatment information. But did SAMHSA really make the rule simpler, or will privacy and security officers find themselves grappling with a fresh set of complicated rules and exceptions?