The Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) has issued its Spring Data Matters newsletter highlighting the agency’s recent actions. The update includes the publication of its latest report on Hospital-Wide Adult All-Payer Readmissions in Massachusetts: SFY 2011-2021. This report is the eighth in CHIA’s annual series of all-payer readmission rates. The CHIA report includes both annual and quarterly trends for SFY 2021 and includes a section on COVID-19 readmissions. The key findings include:
- The unplanned, all-payer readmission rate for Massachusetts stayed the same from 2020 to 2021, at 16.0%.
- Medicare and Medicaid patients had higher rates (18.2% and 17.0%, respectively) than commercially insured patients (10.3%).
- Patients discharged home had the lowest readmission rates (12 1%) compared to patients discharged home with home health (HHA) (18 5%), to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) (20 9%), or to inpatient rehab (19 0%) While the readmission rate for patients discharged to home has remained low over time, readmission rates for patients discharged to HHA and SNF have increased in recent years Readmission rates for patients discharged to rehabilitation have decreased over the past few years.
- Patients with four or more hospitalizations within 12 months accounted for half (50%) of all readmissions.