<prompt> Human: My wife said the hospital CFO came down to tell everyone they had to be extra careful with everything they do, because they lost 68,000 bucks on a patient that had to come back from minor complications from surgery infection, and it was due to some guidelines in the ACA.My question is, if the hospital prescribes or performs treatment but then followup measures are taken cause everything went south, is the patient required to pay for those followup services?  <response>: Hospitals cannot bill for certain readmissions within 30 days of discharge TO MEDICARE. Some states andor commercial payors may have similar lawscontracts that also prevent payment for certain types of readmissions.Im 90 sure hospitals CAN charge a patient directly for a readmission. If the readmission is due to negligence or improper care during the first admission, however, it may be possible for a patient to negotiate with the hospital so that they will not charge the patient due to fear of lawsuit. The last sentence is my opinion. 