McNeil, Barbara J.Ferro, Enrico2018-05-182018-052018-05-152018Ferro, Enrico Giuseppe. 2018. Readmission Rates Across All Insurance Types After Passage of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program: A Nationwide Analysis. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Medical School.http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:37006479Background: Since implementation of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), readmissions have declined for Medicare patients with target conditions. It is unknown whether similar reductions occurred for other insurance groups. Methods: Readmission rates across all insurance types were analyzed to understand whether readmissions changed in the pre- and post-HRRP periods for target conditions, compared to control. Results: Medicare readmissions declined faster after HRRP implementation, both in aggregate and for individual target conditions. For Medicaid patients, there was a stronger decline for certain target conditions, while readmissions for privately-insured patients were not found to decline after HRRP implementation. Conclusions: The HRRP was associated with readmission reductions beyond Medicare patients. Future studies are needed to inform interventions to improve Medicaid readmissions, and understand any unintended consequences of the policy.application/pdfenThesis or Dissertation