The Health Research & Educational Trust, an AHA affiliate, has received a $180,000 grant from the Commonwealth Fund to examine how a new Medicare payment policy affects safety-net hospitals. Beginning this month, Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals for 11 hospital-acquired conditions. The study marks the first effort to determine the impact of the “value-based purchasing” policy on safety-net hospitals, which serve a high proportion of low-income and uninsured patients. Results of the study will provide valuable insights to policymakers as they consider adding hospital-acquired conditions to the policy, and to CMS and private payers considering similar policies. “Improving quality of care and preserving the health care safety net are key priorities of the AHA and HRET,” said John Combes, M.D., HRET interim president. “We’re enthusiastic about this study and the potential of this project to yield groundbreaking findings that will help form future policy.” The study will run through Sept. 30, 2009.