Washington, DC - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will convene a roundtable discussion on Thursday to examine value-based purchasing of hospital care in Medicare. The roundtable will take place at 2:00 p.m.
on Thursday, March 6, in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Currently, the Medicare program works to increase transparency and quality of care by providing increased reimbursement to hospitals that publicly report performance data. But many times the hospital reimbursement system in Medicare pays hospitals more for poor quality care. Value-based reimbursement would go beyond requiring data reporting alone, and would reward hospitals for providing high-quality care, or for making improvements in quality. In Medicare demonstration programs and in efforts already implemented in the private sector, such programs have demonstrated an ability to improve care for patients. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA)
required CMS to submit a plan to Congress regarding a transition to value-based purchasing of hospital care in Medicare.
Twenty-two health care organizations will take part in the event. Representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will present an overview of the Agency’s November 2007 report to Congress outlining the Agency's plan to implement a Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program. The roundtable will involve a discussion of key issues concerning quality measures, performance standards, incentives, and implementation of the CMS plan. Participants will present their views on both the positive and negative aspects of the plan, and how it can be improved.
WHO:
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services United States Government Accountability Office Medicare Payment Advisory Commission AARP Association of American Medical Colleges American College of Surgeons American Hospital Association American Nurses Association American Organization of Nurse Executives Billings Clinic, Billings, MT Blue Cross Blue Shield Association The Commonwealth Fund Federation of American Hospitals Harvard University Health Affairs Mercy Hospital, Council Bluffs, IA National Quality Forum National Business Group on Health Premier, Inc.
Quality Alliance Steering Committee Society of Hospital Medicine
WHAT:
Roundtable discussion on hospital value-based purchasing
WHERE:
Senate Dirksen Office Building 215 Washington, D.C. 20510
WHEN:
Thursday, March 6, 2008
2:00 p.m.
Source: Ranking Member’s News
