Learn: healthcare policy and data, explained from the source

Frequently asked questions

What is the Fonteum Learn hub?

The Learn hub is Fonteum's library of plain-language explainers for US healthcare policy and federal data. Each explainer answers a definitional question completely, cites the primary federal sources, and links to the underlying facility-level data so any figure can be traced to its origin. The inaugural cluster covers hospital-acquired conditions and the CMS HAC Reduction Program.

What does the hospital-acquired conditions guide cover?

It covers the CMS definition of hospital-acquired conditions, the 14 categories under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, how the Present on Admission indicator drives the payment provision, and how the separate HAC Reduction Program penalizes the worst-performing quartile of hospitals with a 1-percent Medicare payment reduction. It is a policy and data explainer, not clinical guidance.

Where can I find facility-level HAC penalty data?

The companion research page, HAC Reduction Program Penalties, publishes FY2026 facility-level penalty status and Total HAC Scores rolled up by state, sourced from the CMS HAC Reduction Program Hospital file. Among the scored hospitals, 719 — roughly the worst-performing quartile — take the 1-percent payment reduction.

Are Fonteum's Learn explainers medically reviewed?

Yes. A non-practicing medical reviewer checks each explainer for source interpretation, terminology, and limitations language. The reviewer does not provide clinical advice; the explainers cover regulatory and data accuracy, not patient care.

How current is the HAC data on Fonteum?

The HAC figures reflect the CMS FY2026 program year, read directly from the CMS Hospital file on data.cms.gov at the snapshot date shown on each page. CMS refreshes the file annually by federal fiscal year; Fonteum re-reads it on each publish and records the new snapshot date in the provenance chain.