Citations

• Payments to doctors and hospitals for reducing care under Medicare
• Readmission penalties (detailed calculations)
  
• Penalties at each hospital
  
• Exemptions for military and Maryland hospitals, people under 65, without part B, etc.
• Advocates to advise and represent patients
  
• Dropping Part B
  
• Checkbook.org and Center for the Study of Services, Guide to Health Plans

• Alternative ways to cut Medicare costs or raise revenue

• Readmissions cutting number of patients treated, and raising death rates
  
• American College of Surgeons letter on penalties
  
• 5 studies on lower readmissions, correlated with more deaths
  
• 3 studies on palliative care, DNRs, and quicker deaths

• Medicare 2012 and 2013 concern about "morbidity and mortality"
• Recommendations from MedPAC in 2012 and Medicare in 2013 for nursing home penalty
• Medicare 2009 endorsement of "end-of-life/palliative care programs" to cut costs and increase bonuses to doctors and hospitals
• Medicare 3-5% adjustment for pre-existing patient sickness in 2008
• MedPAC 2012 recommendation of hospice to decrease rehospitalizations
• MedPAC 2007 report, on 2005 study of readmissions, using experimental software
• Calculate chances of readmission for patients
• 20%-55% reductions in care, with minimal quality control, from bonuses for reduced costs
• 2009 Medicare estimate of "minimal" savings from first bonus program
• CBO estimate of small cost savings from readmission penalties ($1.1 to $1.5 billion)

• Am.Coll.of Physicians primers on medical studies (free)
• British J of Medicine primers on medical studies (more detail, needs subscription)