Problems with Medicare Policy

Concerns are rising about the way federal funding for hospitals is being distributed. The Obama administration recently published a report that calls for change in payment policy from federal insurance programs, such as Medicare, to hospitals. The report showed that hospitals are increasingly getting rewarded or punished based on their performance. For example, hospitals lose federal funding if the number of treated patients who return within the next month is above average. This is a problem because funding is being awarded to high-tech hospitals, and taken away from hospitals that need drastic upgrades. Many also fear that current policy benefits hospitals with generally high-income patients, whereas it takes funding away from hospitals with low-income patients.

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/us/politics/health-laws-pay-policy-is-skewed-panel-finds.html?ref=policy&_r=0