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Currently, readmissions for Medicare patients alone cost $26 billion annually. About $17 billion of that could be avoided if patients received the right care from the start, according to a February 2013 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began cutting one percent of reimbursements for 30-day readmissions among Medicare patients. That penalty is expected to increase to two percent in 2014 and three percent in 2015.

The $10 million sponsorship from AstraZeneca will allow the ACC to create a Patient Navigator Program that will support a team of caregivers to help patients overcome challenges during their hospital stay and in the weeks following discharge when they are most vulnerable. The ultimate goal will be to create a program that supports a culture of patient-centered care that can be implemented in other hospitals.