Impact of Hospital Operating Margin on Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections Following Medicare’s Hospital-Acquired Conditions Payment Policy

In October 2008, Medicare ceased additional payment for hospital-acquired conditions not present on admission. We evaluated the policy’s differential impact in hospitals with high vs low operating margins. Medicare’s payment policy may have had an impact on reducing central line–associated bloodstream infections in hospitals with low operating margins. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;37(1):100–103