Medicare Shared Savings Program and readmission rate among ischemic stroke patients

Objective Hospitals participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) share with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the savings generated by reducing readmissions. Our aim was to determine whether MSSP is associated with changes in readmissions and mortality for Medicare patients hospitalized with ischemic stroke, and whether MSSP has a different impact on safety-net hospitals (SNHs) compared to non-SNHs.   Methods This study was based on the CMS Hospital Compare data for risk-standardized 30-day readmission and mortality rates for Medicare patients hospitalized with ischemic strokes between 2010 and 2017. With propensity score matched sample, hospital-level difference-in-difference (DID) analysis was used to determine whether MSSP was associated with changes in hospital readmission and mortality as well as to examine the impact of MSSP on SNHs compared to non-SNHs. Results MSSP-participating hospitals had slightly greater reductions in readm...