The National Association of Urban Hospitals has written to Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) endorsing their new legislation, the Hospital Readmissions Program Accuracy and Accountability Act.  The bill calls for adding risk adjustment to Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program – a change NAUH has long advocated.

NAUH has long maintained that the program requires risk adjustment because so many of the people who turn to private safety-net hospitals for care have endured years of socio-economic challenges that, over time, lead to medical problems that are more difficult to treat.  A number of recent studies have confirmed this belief.

See NAUH’s endorsement letter here.