Saturday, August 25, 2012

Under Obamacare, hospitals could receive penalties if they readmit your elderly mom and dad within a month

A provision of ObamaCare is set to punish roughly two-thirds of U.S. hospitals evaluated by Medicare starting this fall over high readmission rates, according to an analysis by Kaiser Health News.

Starting in October, Medicare will reduce reimbursements to hospitals with high 30-day readmission rates -- which refers to patients who return within a month -- by as much as 1 percent. The maximum penalty increases to 2 percent the following year and 3 percent in 2014.

Doctors are concerned the penalty is unfair, since sometimes they have to accept patients more than once in a brief period of time but could be penalized for doing so -- even for accepting seniors who are sick.

"Among patients with heart failure, hospitals that have higher readmission rates actually have lower mortality rates," said Sunil Kripalani, MD, a professor with Vanderbilt University Medical Center who studies hospital readmissions. "So, which would we rather have -- a hospital readmission or a death?"
The full sory is HERE.

Here is a related video:



The first thing that popped into my head after reading this, was the death scene with Edward G. Robinson and Charlton Heston in the clasic movie, 'Soylent Green'. It's obvious that these penalties will affect how our seniors are treated. As you get older, common sense dictates that you get sick more often. Is this what our seniors have to look forward to under Obamacare?



Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You've outdone yourself. Thank you. Very fun.

Anonymous said...

... if this topic can be fun!!

BOSMAN said...

If you've got family members that are getting on in years, this is a REALITY.

Those younger folks who may look at this as no big deal....Trust me....It will be...in 30 years...when you're the person sent home from the hospital TO EARLY or being told that there's nothing more we can do by readmitting you.

Nikki said...

Yes, If we re-admit the patient again we have to give social security information. To overcome the frauds they are introduced this.

Maryland Medicare

suzzie38 said...


Here is my rant. The elderly are our key to the past and to the future. They carry with them experience and wisdom. They are not a burden to society they are the key to knowledge. Remember they are our Parents, Grandparents and Veterans. We
should be putting them on a pedastal and honoring them. It is SINFUL and MORALLY WRONG to deny them complete healthcare. You a**holes who don't think the same as I, well I've got a newsflash for you >> YOU TOO, WILL SOME DAY BE ELDERLY and I pray to God you have the forethought and compassion now, so at a later date you also will not be denied full healthcare. THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE DEATH COUNSELING. They should be loved and well taken care of .. Who took care of you when you were a child? We owe them and one day we will walk in their shoes, it's just a matter of time...........

suzzie38 said...

Continued from above .. VOTE OBAMA OUT!!