WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci’s (OH-16) bill to reform the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), which is included in the larger health package to improve patient care, H.R. 5273 The Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act (HIP-C).
Established in 2012, HRRP was created due to concerns that too few resources were being spent on reducing acute care hospital readmissions. This program penalizes hospitals based on the last three years of available readmission data compared to the national average. Renacci’s bipartisan bill would provide for improved consideration of socioeconomic status in the HRRP to prevent penalizing hospitals that serve low-income patients, without masking socioeconomic disparities.
“While we do want to ensure hospitals are reducing acute care readmissions, we also want to make sure we are not disproportionately penalizing those who see a large number of our most vulnerable patient populations who tend to have a higher rate of readmissions due to no fault of the hospital. I have heard from many Ohio hospitals, especially our teaching hospitals, about the impact this policy - and others from the Affordable Care Act - was going to have on them and I’m glad we’re starting to fix these concerns in this larger health package passed today. We must continue our efforts in the House to promote greater access, increase choices, and improve the quality of health care,” Renacci said.
In his floor remarks on HIP-C before passage, Chairman of the Health Ways and Means Committee Pat Tiberi said this bill is the product of a true bipartisan effort. He praised Renacci for his provision to reform the hospital readmissions program.
“My colleague, Jim Renacci, has been championing this issue for some time,” said Subcommittee Chairman Tiberi. “Jim’s policy ensures that the hospital readmissions program provides an apples-to-apples comparison based on the specific patient population a hospital treats.”
Renacci has represented the 16th district of Ohio since 2011 and sits on the Ways and Means Committee and Budget Committee.
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