Government
Medicare P4P project offered improved quality but few financial rewards
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 10, 2008
A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay-for-performance project involving large group practices was reasonably designed and led to quality improvements, but did not financially reward most participants and would be difficult to apply to smaller practices, found a Feb. 15 Government Accountability Office report.
Although eight of 10 participating groups -- each with 200 or more physicians -- met quality improvement targets in CMS' Physician Group Practice Demonstration, only two achieved the required cost savings to earn a bonus. The bonus was $7.4 million for both practices combined. The report said the agency did not provide clearly understood feedback to the practices until the program's third year, which hampered physicians' ability to adjust their care management techniques.
The program, begun on April 1, 2005, uses a hybrid payment formula that adjusts for Medicare enrollees' health status, among other considerations. It is scheduled to continue through March 31, 2009. The report, in pdf, is online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/03/10/gvbf0310.htm.
