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Medicare's HAC Policy May Not Save Much Money
Kristen Kohrt, for HealthLeaders Media, September 18, 2009
For example, if a patient develops a urinary tract infection (UTI) in the hospital, CMS will not pay that hospital for treatment of that condition. But if that case includes 10 or 15 other codes, dropping one code for a UTI will not decrease the payment by much.
Siddel says he has tested the impact of HACs for clients and came up with similar "marginal results" as the California researchers.
Although CMS officials acknowledged that projected savings are not large, they suggested the study may be "limited and speculative." They added the penalties have been effective in changing behavior and improving hospital care.
Kristen Kohrt is the associate editor for Healthcare Auditing Strategies and Healthcare Auditing Weekly, and manages the Healthcare Auditing Resource Center. You can contact her at kkhort@hcpro.com.
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