Quality Measures Under Consideration for Agency Programs

December 20, 2011

CMS published a list of 366 unique quality measures that are currently under consideration across 23 of its programs (List of Measures Under Consideration). These include quality measures being considered for inclusion in, among other programs, the e-Rx Incentive program, Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting program, the Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Quality Reporting programs, and the Value-Based Purchasing Program.

The List of Measures Under Consideration was published in accordance with a statutory mandate set forth in Section 3014 of the Affordable Care Act, requiring CMS to establish a “pre-rulemaking process” for the selection of quality and efficiency measures. This process includes the following:

Making publicly available, by December 1st annually, a list of measures currently under consideration by CMS for qualifying programs, including measures suggested by the public;
Providing an opportunity for multi-stakeholder groups to review and provide input by February 1st annually to CMS on the measures under consideration;
Publishing the rationale for the selection of any quality and efficiency measures that are not endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF); and
Assessing the impact of endorsed quality and efficiency measures at least every 3 years (first report due to public by March 1, 2012).

The List of Measures Under Consideration [PDF] is published on the NQF website for the Measure Applications Partnership (MAP), which is a public-private partnership of industry stakeholders that will provide CMS with input on the quality measures being considered. Notably, the meetings of the MAP are open to the public. The MAP will provide input to CMS regarding proposed quality measures, but the proposed measures will still be subject to notice and comment rulemaking under the respective CMS programs.

The following is a link to Frequently Asked Questions about MAP [PDF].