Medicare's readmission penalty called unfair for safety-net hospitals.

The Chicago Tribune (1/30, Shelton) reports, "Medicare's new penalty system, which takes effect next fall, is designed to prod hospitals to make sure patients get the care they need after discharge and to reduce the number of potentially avoidable readmissions, which by one estimate cost the government $12 billion a year." Critics argue that some hospitals can have little effect on readmission rates because "what happens off the hospital campus can have a huge impact on patient outcomes." That is said to be especially true for hospitals in impoverished areas. "Health experts say low-income people often can't afford their medications or the healthier foods they are advised to eat." Medicare's chief medical officer, Patrick Conway, said, "We especially are concerned about safety-net hospitals that take care of a high portion of patients in poverty and racial and ethnic minorities," but, "the agency is committed to the readmission penalties."