Company: UHS
Filing Date: 2025-02-26
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-027785
Chunk: 152

Company: UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-26
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1B
Chunk 152
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 total knee arthroplasty ("TKA"), excluding planned readmissions, when compared to expected rates. In the fiscal year 2015 IPPS final rule, CMS added readmissions for coronary artery bypass graft ("CABG") surgical procedures beginning in fiscal year 2017. To account for excess readmissions, an applicable hospital's base operating DRG payment amount is adjusted for each discharge occurring during the fiscal year. Readmissions payment adjustment factors can be no more than a 3% reduction. As part of the FFY 2023 IPPS final rule discussed above, CMS modified all of the condition-specific readmission measures to include an adjustment for patient history of COVID-19 for FFY 2024.

Accountable Care Organizations

The Legislation requires HHS to establish a Medicare Shared Savings Program that promotes accountability and coordination of care through the creation of accountable care organizations (“ACOs”). The ACO program allows providers (including hospitals), physicians and other designated professionals and suppliers to voluntarily work together to invest in infrastructure and redesign delivery processes to achieve high quality and efficient delivery of services. The program is intended to produce savings as a result of improved quality and operational efficiency. ACOs that achieve quality performance standards established by HHS will be eligible to share in a portion of the amounts saved by the Medicare program. CMS also developed and implemented more advanced ACO payment models that require ACOs to assume greater risk for attributed beneficiaries. Through various subsidiaries, we participate in ACOs in many of our acute care hospital markets.

Infectious Disease Outbreaks, Pandemics, or Other Public Health Emergencies or Crisis 

Our business and financial results may be harmed by an international, national or localized outbreak of a highly contagious or epidemic disease, including but not limited to, COVID-19 or similar corona viruses, Ebola or Zika, may put stress on the capacity of all or a part of our health care facilities, could result in an abnormally high demand for health care services, require that resources be diverted from one part of operations to another part, or disrupt the supply chain for equipment and supplies necessary for operations. In addition, unaffected individuals may decide to defer elective procedures or otherwise avoid medical treatment, resulting in reduced patient volumes and operating revenues.

In addition to statutory and regulatory changes to the Medicare program and each of the state Medicaid programs, our operations and reimbursement may be affected by administrative rulings, new or novel interpretations and determinations of existing laws and regulations, post-payment audits, requirements for utilization review and new governmental funding restrictions,