Nursing homes are now being offered incentives to reduce the amount of patients they send to hospitals. Readmissions to the hospital are often triggered by concerns of less reimbursement for more costly care that a patient needs and could receive at the hospital instead of a nursing home. In addition, nursing homes may desire to avoid questioning by family members for not sending a patient out with health concerns.
Hospitals on the other hand want to avoid long hospital stays, because Medicare reimbursements are fixed based on other patients receiving the same treatment historically. This leaves a patient ricocheting back and forth between facilities. The incentive to slow down readmissions to the hospital would help remedy some of that movement back and forth. Regardless of incentives, nursing homes must be mindful to make the best decision for that patient at a given time. For more, read the story.
