Editor's note: This story was edited at 4:50 p.m. for clarification.
Under provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a number of hospitals including those in the University of Michigan Health System will be receiving less Medicare funding because of their readmission rates, according to a report by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Large urban teaching hospitals like Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and UMHS often find it difficult to reduce their readmission rates because they often serve as regional referral centers for larger numbers of sick patients, Crain’s reported.
Starting Oct. 1 about 2,217 hospitals across the country will experience a cut in their Medicare reimbursements when patients were readmitted within 30 days of being discharged at a rate that exceeded the national average for congestive heart failure, heart attack and pneumonia.
A number of hospitals in southeast Michigan received a full 1 percent cut in their Medicare reimbursements on October.
UMHS will likely see a 0.68 percent decline in its Medicare reimbursements, according to the report.
Last week, top administrators at UMHS emailed their entire staff about the need to cut costs because of the health system's growing operational deficit.
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.