CMS awards $7M to top performers in P4P program

CMS has announced that it will award a collective $7 million this year to the 112 top performing hospitals in its ongoing pay-for-performance project with Premier. The best performer, Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., will receive the highest quality incentive payment of $385,342 after getting top ratings in four out of five clinical areas being measured. All hospitals are reporting data on heart attacks and heart failure, coronary artery bypass grafts, pneumonia, and hip and knee replacements.

Officials with the P4P program, which is in its third year, say that there has been substantial and continual improvement among all 250 participating hospitals in 36 states. Hospitals in the CMS/Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration have raised quality of care by an average of 15.8 percent during the first three years, as evaluated by 30 measures in five clinical areas, CMS officials reported. To date, CMS has awarded $24.5 million in bonuses to top performers in the program.

To learn more about the CMS quality improvement project:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
CMS extends pay-for-performance program
Medicare plans home health P4P program
CMS P4P program shows improvements
Physicians question CMS P4P effort