The Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) May 5 released a Medicare scorecard that indicates 42 percent of 2013 Medicare Part A and B payments were tied to a “value-oriented” program. By CPR’s definition, value-oriented programs have both a cost and quality component and included programs such as Hospital Value-Based Purchasing, and the Pioneer and Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) accountable care organizations (ACO).
The scorecard mostly aligns with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated goals to move to payments from volume to value [see Washington Highlights, Jan. 30]. Programs that rewarded quality reporting or that focused solely on costs were not considered “value-oriented” for purposes of the scorecard. In addition, newer programs, such as the Physician Value-Based Modifier, which began in 2015, were not included in this analysis as these programs were not established in 2013.
Other metrics on the scorecard include:
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Total payments for adoption and use of electronic health records;
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Number of beneficiaries attributed to either a Pioneer or MSSP ACO; and
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Total number of readmissions.