Ripon Advance: Renacci, Engel Introduce Bill to Adjust Hospital Readmission Penalties

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U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH), along with fellow Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), introduced the Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act on Tuesday.

The legislation would mandate that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) make changes to the readmission penalty based on a hospital's number of dual eligible patients, disadvantaged senior citizens, or disabled patients that receive both Medicare and Medicaid.

The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program was installed as part of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. It reduces acute care hospital readmissions by empowering the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to penalize hospitals based on their readmission data for the past three years compared to the national average.

The program has been criticized because it does not account for socio-economic factors that impact these readmission rates. As a result, hospitals in certain areas that treat more disadvantaged populations, are often over penalized.

"As a former businessman with a long record of experience in the health care industry, it's clear that the HRRP unfairly penalizes safety-net and teaching hospitals -- taking valuable resources from those who are in need of them most," Renacci said. "There is no question that this money could be better spent helping patients avoid rehospitalization. Our bill reflects that."

Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) are presenting companion legislation in the Senate.

"The Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act would make a vital correction to the HRRP hospital readmission formula, which currently treats certain hospitals in lower socioeconomic communities unfairly," Engel added. "Hospitals must be held accountable for providing high quality care to all patients, but as numerous studies have shown, socioeconomic factors can influence patient outcomes. Therefore, hospitals serving our neediest populations shouldn't be penalized for doing so. This is a piece of common sense legislation and I hope it passes in the House and Senate quickly."

The legislation is strongly supported by a number of medical organizations, including the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

"America's hospitals are strongly committed to reducing unnecessary readmissions, but under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, some hospitals are unfairly penalized for factors beyond their control," Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the AHA, said. "This legislation will improve the fairness of the program and help ensure that hospitals have the critical resources they need to care for our nation's most vulnerable patients."

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