The Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program began four years ago, and has attracted both support for its overall efficacy and criticism for its impact on safety net hospitals. Meanwhile, state Medicaid programs are using readmissions as a performance measure for hospitals and for managed care plans. This paper compares the federal HRRP with Illinois Medicaid’s Potentially Preventable Readmissions Program, and asks what Illinois can learn from the successes and shortcomings of the federal program.

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