Central Peninsula Hospital CEO Rick Davis said the first year of the Affordable Care Act has had its ups and downs…
Davis: “One of the things we’ve seen is our bad debt and charity care go down quite a bit this year over the last year and that’s a nationwide occurrence.”
Davis said even Alaska, which hasn’t yet expanded Medicaid, saw a reduction in bad debt and charity care. That’s the “up,” Davis said the real “downs” are yet to come…
Davis: “We’re just in the first or second year of the Affordable Care Act’s real implementation and a lot of the programs or pieces of the Affordable Care Act have to do with lower reimbursement and it ramps up ever year. They’re starting to penalize hospitals for adverse outcomes on joint replacements. Readmission rates on joint replacements are starting to be penalized. That’s new.”
CPH received a $107,000 penalty for joint replacement readmission rates. Each year Medicare holds some of the hospital’s reimbursements aside and the institution must meet certain requirements in order to receive the full amount. Davis said they’re pursuing a new system to lower joint replacement readmission rates, including increased care after a patient’s operation.
