Changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities under HRRP

Editor's Note

The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), which penalizes hospitals for higher-than-expected readmission rates, did not prompt substantial changes in hospital referral patterns to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), this study finds. However, readmissions for patients referred to SNFs decreased more than for other patients.

In this analysis of nearly 7 million Medicare patients in 2,698 hospitals, hospitals with a median level of penalty pressure had modest increases of 0.3% in the proportion of referrals to SNFs, but there were no statistically significant increases in referrals to SNFs.

The findings warrant investigations of other mechanisms underlying readmissions reductions, the researchers say.