CMS notifying hospitals of phase I annual payment update decisions

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday began mailing notices to certain hospitals participating in the Inpatient Quality Reporting program that may be subject to a reduction in their annual payment update for fiscal year 2016. The affected hospitals did not meet selected clinical process of care, population and sampling, or healthcare-associated infection submission requirements. They have until 30 days after receipt of the notice to submit a reconsideration request to CMS. CMS is aware that there were some communication and data submission problems that may have impeded a hospital’s ability to submit the required data, and invites all affected hospitals that believe they have a reasonable excuse for not submitting their data to attend a March 20 webinar on the reconsideration process. To register for the webinar, scheduled for 1-2 p.m. ET, click here. The event password is IQRRecon@1. For more on the reconsideration process, visit www.qualitynet.org.