Health Data Management reports on the introduction of legislation to create a Medicare value-based purchasing program to reward quality treatment by U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.).
The Quality First Act, H.R. 7067, would authorize up to 2% in additional reimbursements for hospitals meeting or exceeding quality benchmarks for four medical conditions reported to Medicare and publicly available on the government’s Hospital Compare Web site for consumers.
The initial conditions are acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care improvement/surgical infection prevention. The Department of Health and Human Services could develop and add more performance measures to the incentive program.