In back-to-back months this summer, announcements around new mandatory bundled payment programs from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as well as the latest updates regarding Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) penalties on hospitals for failing to lower their rehospitalization rates, collectively signaled to healthcare leaders that payment reform is here to stay.
The July 25 announcement of the mandatory bundled payment program for heart attack care and for cardiac bypass surgery stated, “The hospital in which a Medicare patient is admitted for care for a heart attack or bypass surgery would be accountable for the cost and quality of care provided to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries during the inpatient stay and for 90 days after discharge.
