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Federal officials are urging hospitals to improve care for minority and low-income Medicare patients so they don't wind up back in the hospital soon after they're discharged. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is issuing guidance to hospitals Tuesday on how to improve communication and care for these disadvantaged patients if they want to avoid penalties when these people have to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge. (O'Donnell, 1/26)

The CMS is pushing hospitals to establish more aggressive care plans and to team up with non-medical personnel such as social workers in a new guidance aimed at reducing readmissions for minority and low income Medicare enrollees. Minority and other vulnerable people with chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure are more likely to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge than their white counterparts, according to the CMS. (Dickson, 1/26)