Since October 1, 2012, Medicare has paid American hospitals less when too many patients return within 30 days. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program measures conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and hip or knee replacement. The payment reduction is capped at 3 percent.
A study in JAMA in 2018 found that the program was associated with an increase in deaths within 30 days of discharge for heart failure and pneumonia. The authors said further research was needed to tell whether the program caused the increase.