A new regulation issued by the Obama administration will reward hospitals that provide superior care as a part of an initiative to change the way the United States government funds healthcare.
With the new initiative, Medicare will pay more to those hospitals that receive high scores on a list of criteria used to measure the quality of patient care, and less will be paid to the hospitals who fail to meet acceptable scores based on the new scale of measurement.
For most U.S. hospitals, basing compensation on performance and quality of care is very new, as Medicare has never regularly used such an initiative. Experts insist that this type of initiative is essential in order to ensure quality healthcare and control healthcare costs.
The hospitals who do not meet the benchmarks set by the initiative will risk losing around one percent of what would normally be paid to them by Medicare in 2013. Hospitals receive over $150 billion in Medicare payments yearly, making the one percent loss seem minimal, but officials say that as more initiatives to improve patient care are put in to place the stakes will increase.
Medicare currently pays for healthcare for 50 million disabled and elderly Americans, and in 2009, they were responsible for paying for over 12 million hospitalizations. Many of these hospitalizations, evidence suggests, resulted in patients being readmitted into hospitals and receiving less than superior care.
A recent report showed that nearly 1 in 3 patients experience adversity during hospitalization such as medication and surgical errors. Such occurrences can drive up the costs for patients as they often result in the need for more medical care.
With the Obama administration's new initiative, a report card system will be created which will track hospitals' performance and patient satisfaction.
Doctor mistakes, medication errors, and surgical errors can often lead to serious consequences. If you believe that you have been a victim of this type of medical malpractice, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates.
Call us toll free at 1-800-541-9376 for a free legal consultation or click here to visit or website.
