Senate prods CMS on value-based purchasing, SCHIP

Senate leaders are pushing to get a pending report from CMS regarding hospital value-based purchasing and another on the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Senators Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have asked CMS to get the report to them by September 17.

The reports are being issued in response to rules Congress set for CMS regarding value-based purchasing, a flavor of pay-for-performance program which tailors compensation to the overall "value" of services provided. To implement such a program, which is designed to help align CMS payments with hospital quality and performance, Congress required CMS to identify specific measures ahead of time, set up data reporting mechanisms, prepare to adjust payments and disclose hospital performance.

To learn more about the Senate's request:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece

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