Heart Failure Currently, an estimated 5.7 million Americans are living with heart failure. An additional 670,000 new cases are diagnosed annually, up from 500,000 a few years ago. In LA County, approximately 40 percent of deaths are caused by heart disease and stroke. The cost of providing heart failure care ranks among the leading U.S. healthcare expenditures.

Readmission Rates Approximately one in five Medicare patients historically were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days (not limited to HF readmissions)—although, this statistic is improving slightly. In 2011, hospital readmissions attributed to more than $41 billion in health care costs (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). In LA County, approximately 80 percent of hospitals are penalized for excess readmissions (Readmissions Reduction Program)