HHS Launches Initiative to
Pay Hospitals Based on Performance

 

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule to institute the value-based purchasing program for hospitals that participate in the Medicare program. Through the initiative, which was authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals that perform well on quality measures will be rewarded through bonus payments, with the goal of transforming the payment system from one that emphasizes quantity to one that focuses on quality.

Quality metrics used to determine bonus payments will measure, for example, timely delivery of care for individuals who experience heart attacks, appropriate and timely monitoring of surgery patients in order to prevent blood clots, the communication of hospital discharge instructions to heart failure patients, and the cleanliness of hospital facilities. Seventy percent of bonuses will be determined by hospital performance on clinical quality measures, while 30 percent of bonus payments will be determined by patient ratings of their hospital experiences. 

The program will begin in October 2012 and will be funded by reducing hospital payments by one percent and reallocating that money for bonus payments to well-performing hospitals. HHS estimates that $850 billion will be available for bonus payments in fiscal year 2013, an amount that will increase over time. The hospital value-based purchasing initiative is one of many new programs enacted by the ACA that aim to improve Medicare patient experience and care.

• Read the HHS press release.
• Read more about the hospital value-based purchasing program.
• Learn more about quality-improvement initiatives included in the ACA

-From “ Preserving Medicare Through Payment Reform”, Medicare Watch, Medicare Rights Center, May 05, 201.

 

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