Issue Brief: Controls on the Premature Discharge by Hospitals to Post-Acute Providers

The prevalence of the practice of transferring patients to sub-acute levels of care has created concerns with hospital discharge planners. Their apprehension arises from the possibility that if they do not quickly transfer patients from an acute care setting to a post-acute level of care, their hospital may be at an economic disadvantage to others with shorter lengths of stay due to differing transfer practices. This paper looks at four factors that mitigate the incentives to transfer patients.