Accreditation

CMS proposes new rule: Perform well, be rewarded

Accreditation Connection, January 21, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a new rule for hospital inpatient value-based purchasing that plans to give monetary incentive for hospitals to meeting and exceed quality and safety measures, and is also intended to make care safer by reducing medical errors.

Under the program, hospitals that do well both in terms of quality of care and the patient experience – or hospitals that have made improvements in their delivery of care – would be rewarded with higher payments. And, the higher a hospital’s performance or improvement during the performance period during any given fiscal year, the higher the hospital’s value based incentive payment.

The CMS has been collecting data from hospitals on quality and patient experience as part of its Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, which is a required portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

CMS expects a ruling next year, and is welcoming comments on the proposed rule until March 8.

For more information, visit the AHAP Blog.

Most Popular

Related Articles