Marcus Thompson
91 Willow Creek Rd.
Springfield, IL 62711
(217) 402-8930
October 15, 2025
JB Pritzker Governor of Illinois 2760 W 111th St.
Chicago, IL 60655
Dear Governor Pritzker,
Hospital readmissions are extremely costly to the healthcare system and this is why I would like to make sure that not only our nurses should know the importance of this issue but the whole Illinois population should be informed about it as well in NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4. Not only does such readmissions represent a huge financial burden to the health system and to the patients themselves, but it is also a form of economic burden that must be relieved. Since you are already intertwined with nurses and other health practitioners, you are best placed to help bring about a change through lobbying to make laws that might help in mitigating this.
Lobbying for change in hospital readmission rates is key to improving patient outcomes and ensuring better healthcare overall. With fewer readmissions to the hospital, patients and the health care system will save money. For each avoidable readmission, the hospitals save approximately $9,000 to $12,000 per avoidable readmission, but sometimes more (Yakusheva & Hoffman, 2020). Another benefit that can stated in NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4 is improved
Nationwide, hospital readmission rates keep climbing, and this problem needs to be addressed before it overwhelms the healthcare system. Nurses lobbying for change can play a powerful role in driving solutions and protecting patient care. If the healthcare system fails, it will have a negative effect on all Illinoisans and Americans. About 20 percent of geriatric patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 1 month, costing Medicare $17.4 billion annually (Farhat et al., 2019). Readmissions are expensive for patients and the health care system and are associated with adverse health outcomes for patients as highlighted in NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4. However, the burden of readmissions isn’t only clinical; there are large financial costs associated with readmissions for hospitals, healthcare facilities, patients, and their families. Since most geriatric patients have multiple morbidities, there is an increase in health care utilization. Further, the financial burden for patients and families for having to be readmitted is also a factor which further demonstrates the urgent need for resource allocation (Picco et al., 2016). The funds saved from hospital readmissions can be used for primary and preventative care to ensure that patients do not end up being readmitted to the hospital.
Experience as a nurse has guided the planning and risk analysis of resources, strengthening the efforts of the health action lobby to tackle this economic issue. Having witnessed the effect of the increased rate of hospital readmissions, I felt compelled to present a case for change and make recommendations for solutions to this economic problem. In addition,
Being a nurse myself, I have personally witnessed how hospital readmissions affect patients, nurses, healthcare staff, and the entire healthcare system, which is why advocating for health equity is so important in addressing this issue. As the number of readmissions increases, nurses are working on fewer hands on the floor, but must be able to safely and well treat patients. I work as a medical surgical nurse in a home town hospital and we are already understaffed and continue to receive a significant number of repeat care readmissions. Higher rates of readmissions will negatively affect the healthcare system economically, but more importantly
Sincerely,
Marcus Thompson, BSN, RN
References
Bronstein, L. R., et al. “Impact of a social work care coordination intervention on hospital readmission: A randomized controlled trial.” Social Work, vol. 60, no. 3, July 2015,
- 248–55. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swv016. Characteristics of 30-Day All-Cause Hospital Readmissions, 2016-2020.
Cilla, Francesco, et al. “Risk factors for early hospital readmission in geriatric patients: A systematic review.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 20, no. 3, Jan. 2023, p. 1674. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031674.
Nada M. Farhat, PharmD, et al. Evaluation of Interdisciplinary Geriatric Transitions of Care on Readmission Rates. July 2019. www.ajmc.com, https://www.ajmc.com/view/evaluation-
of-interdisciplinary-geriatric-transitions-of-care-on-readmission-rates.
Picco, Louisa, et al. “Economic burden of multimorbidity among older adults: Impact on healthcare and societal costs.” BMC Health Services Research, vol. 16, no. 1, Dec. 2016, p. 173. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1421-7.
Yakusheva, Olga, and Geoffrey J. Hoffman. “Does a reduction in readmissions result in net savings for most hospitals? An examination of Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program.” Medical Care Research and Review, vol. 77, no. 4, Aug. 2020, pp. 334–44. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558718795745.