Kyle wrote a very precise article related to Medicare’s refusal to pay for readmission within 30 days of discharge from a hospital.
He summarizes it well – ‘But this is intrinsically a superficial strategy, not a strategy that addresses the underlying cost problems in healthcare delivery.’
The second problem I see is not addressing the issue from a patient’s perspective. The <30 readmission rule can potentially put patients in harm’s way, just as I have found in my case, it was so difficult to get approval for an MRI when my back hurt.
Reducing costs must be addressed, but not at the expense of patients.
