A new report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) concludes that readmissions are dropping, but two-thirds of hospitals will still lose reimbursement as the result of looming penalties. Readmissions for all causes fell by 15.3 percent last year, and by about the same amounts in 2010 and 2009, the report notes. MedPAC also estimates the average penalty per hospital for failing to cut readmissions will be about $125,000, and that penalties will comprise slightly less than one-quarter of 1 percent of all Medicare payments. --Read the full article on FierceHealthcare