Marsh, Ironshore partner on reimbursement risk policy for hospitals

Marsh L.L.C. and Ironshore Inc. on Tuesday said they are offering insurance to hospitals to cover the risk of potential reductions in Medicare reimbursements under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.

The HRRP requires that CMS reduce payments to acute care hospitals that have an excessive number of patients with certain conditions return within 30 days of their discharge, Marsh and Ironshore said in a joint statement.  In fiscal year 2018, CMS reported it will withhold $564 million in reimbursements from nearly 2,600 hospitals, according to the statement.

The Medicare Readmission Reduction policy, which is underwritten by Ironshore and available exclusively from Marsh, provides limits of up to a 3% reduction in annual Medicare revenue subject to the HRRP, according to the statement.