How to succeed under CMS’s hospital VBP program

Description

Abstract: It used to be called “pay-for-performance.” Now CMS describes it as “value-based purchasing” (VBP). Beginning in fiscal year 2013, per-discharge payments from base operating diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) to participating hospitals will be reduced. Hospitals then will have an opportunity to earn back those payment reductions — and more — through CMS’s VBP program. This article explains how the program represents the new paradigm for payment to hospitals initially, and for nearly all health care providers eventually. A sidebar shows how to prepare for current and future VBP criteria.