These N.J. Hospitals Had 'Persistent Infections' And Mistakes: Feds

Twenty-one New Jersey hospitals will be penalized, getting about 1 percent of their Medicare payments deducted next year because they didn’t meet the federal government’s standards for preventing hospital-acquired infections or errors.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services report issued this past week says 21 of the state’s 63 hospitals - one-third - had a score that was higher than 6.75 and, therefore, are subject to a payment reduction.

The report, issued this past week, says the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program provide an incentive for hospitals to reduce infections and errors.

These hospitals will have their payments reduced to 99 percent of what would otherwise have been paid for such discharges, accoridng to the CMS website.

Background information regarding the HAC Reduction Program measures, scoring methodology, review and corrections process, and hospital specific reports can be found on this page: QualityNet: HAC Reduction Program.

In October 2014, the CMS began reducing Medicare payments for hospitals that rank in the worst performing quartile. That quartile is identified by calculating a total hospital-acquired condition (HAC) score based on safety measures, disease control, bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, surgical site infections and colon and hysterectomy measures, among other things.

A spokeswoman for the New Jersey Hospital Association told nj.com that the score given to each hospital doesn’t always reflect the full picture, saying the methodology “scores hospitals only on the measures for which they have sufficient data.”

The penalties are part of the Affordable Care Act’s efforts, according to nj.com to link federal funds to quality care. Rather than have Medicare pay doctors and hospitals for whatever services are provided, the system is being altered to pay them based on how well their patients do.

Here are the list of hospitals subjected to the penalty, and their scores:

• PALISADES MEDICAL CENTER 7.5
• VALLEY HOSPITAL 8.5
• COOPER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL 8.75
• TRINITAS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER 7.5
• INSPIRA MEDICAL CENTER VINELAND 7.75
• RIVERVIEW MEDICAL CENTER 8
• ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL 9
• CAPITAL HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER - HOPEWELL 9.5
• ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - SOMERSET 7.25
• OVERLOOK MEDICAL CENTER 7.5
• OCEAN MEDICAL CENTER 7.25
• HACKENSACKUMC MOUNTAINSIDE 8.25
• ST. LUKE’S WARREN HOSPITAL 7.25
• LOURDES MEDICAL CENTER OF BURLINGTON COUNTY 8
• SAINT PETER’S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL 7.75
• CAPITAL HEALTH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER 8.25
• SAINT MICHAEL’S MEDICAL CENTER, INC 7.5
• ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AT HAMILTON 8
• CENTRASTATE MEDICAL CENTER 7.75
• SOUTHERN OCEAN MEDICAL CENTER 7.5
• THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL 9.25

These hospitals were barely below the threshold:

• ATLANTICARE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER 6.75
• INSPIRA MEDICAL CENTER ELMER 6.75
• NEWARK BETH ISRAEL MEDICAL CENTER 6.75