The National Quality Forum has upheld endorsement of three measures of hospital care costs without risk adjustment for socioeconomic status (SES). These measures were included in a groundbreaking trial underway to determine whether NQF should permanently change its policy and allow SES risk adjustment of measures.
The measures, NQF #2431, 2436, and 2579, assess hospital-level risk-standardized payment associated with a 30-day episode of care for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, and pneumonia, respectively. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in August finalized the measures for AMI and heart failure for use in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program beginning in fiscal year 2021. CMS previously adopted all three measures for the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program.