(a) Section 1886(q) of the Act requires the Secretary to establish a Hospital Readmissions Reduction program, under which payments to applicable hospitals are reduced in order to account for certain excess readmissions, effective for discharges beginning on October 1, 2012. The rules for determining the payment adjustment under the Hospital Readmission Reductions Program are specified in §§412.152 and 412.154.

(b) Section 1886(o) of the Act requires the Secretary to establish a Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program for inpatient hospitals (Hospital VBP Program), which requires CMS to make value-based incentive payments to hospitals that meet performance standards for applicable performance periods, effective for discharges beginning on October 1, 2012. The rules for determining the payment adjustment under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program are specified in §§412.160 through 412.167.

(c) Section 1886(p) of the Act requires the Secretary to establish an adjustment to hospital payments for hospital-acquired conditions, or a Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, under which payments to applicable hospitals are adjusted to provide an incentive to reduce hospital-acquired conditions, effective for discharges beginning on October 1, 2014. The rules for determining the payment adjustment under the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program are specified in §§412.170 and 412.172.

[77 FR 53674, Aug. 31, 2012, as amended at 78 FR 50966, Aug. 19, 2013]