This post was also written by Rachel M. Golick.

A new Medicare payment policy on readmissions may place more pressure on post-acute providers to coordinate care with the general acute-care hospitals in their community. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is in the process of adopting a new policy for reducing payments under the inpatient prospective payment system to those hospitals with high readmission rates for patients with certain conditions. As a result, hospitals paid under the IPPS may incur a payment penalty if a skilled nursing facility, long-term acute care hospital, inpatient rehabilitation facility or other post-acute care provider transfers a patient or resident back to the hospital for additional inpatient services. This policy change provides a powerful incentive to coordinate care and standardize procedures across providers. To read the full Alert, click here.