“There are two big parts of the health reform law going into effect today. One penalizes hospitals if patients are re-admitted to the hospital within one month of a visit for a condition that should have been dealt with on the first trip. The other seeks to redistribute higher Medicare payments to the hospitals that are delivering better care.”
Now the question is, will hospitals take the time to undergo massive restructuring to comply with these new guidelines that seek to keep health care patient-centered? Or will they be content with just giving in to a relatively small penalty? With the current political climate brimming with uncertainty as the Republican Presidential Candidate vows to wholly dismantle “Obamacare”, it would seem inevitable that many hospitals would prefer to wait until this election season is over to determine their response to the Health Reform Law. In other words, it will unfortunately be quite some time before efforts to reap the expected benefits of the new law are even initiated at many hospitals across the country.
Tehreem Rehman, MD MPH 