CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6,
2015
Contact: CMS Media Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS
Media Inquiries
CMS
announces new initiative to promote value-based home health care
Proposed
initiative ties Medicare home health payments to quality performance
The Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced a proposal to launch a new model
designed to support greater quality of care among Medicare beneficiaries. The
model is included in the CY 2016 Home Health Prospective Payment System proposed
rule, which updates payments and requirements for home health agencies under
the Medicare program.
As proposed, the Home Health
Value-Based Purchasing model would test whether incentives for better care can
improve outcomes in the delivery of home health services. The model is part of
the Department of Health and Human Service’s commitment to build a health care
delivery system that’s better, smarter, and healthier – one that delivers
better care, spends health care dollars more wisely, and results in healthier
people and communities.
“People want to be taken care of in
their homes and communities whenever possible, and CMS aims to make sure that
care in the home is supported by a value-based care delivery model that is
consistent with the rest of the system. The goal is that no matter where the
care is delivered, it is supported by a payment system that rewards providers
who deliver the highest quality outcomes,” said Acting CMS Administrator Andy
Slavitt.
Authorized under the Affordable
Care Act, the model leverages the successes of and lessons learned from other
value-based purchasing programs and demonstrations – including the Hospital
Value-Based Purchasing Program and the Home Health Pay-for-Performance and
Nursing Home Value-Based Purchasing Demonstrations. The model would apply a
payment reduction or increase to current Medicare-certified home health agency
payments, depending on quality performance, for all agencies delivering
services within nine randomly-selected states. Payment adjustments would be
applied on an annual basis, beginning at five percent and increasing to eight
percent in later years of the initiative.
The
proposed model is designed so there is no selection bias, participants are
representative of home health agencies nationally, and there is sufficient
participation to generate meaningful results among all Medicare-certified home
health agencies nationally.
CMS will solicit comments until September 4, 2015. Instructions on ways to
submit comments are found in the proposed rule. For more information, please
visit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-16790.pdf
On 07/10/2015 and available online
at: http://federalregister.gov/a/2015-16790
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