The pursuit of health equity in the United States has become more critical as healthcare disparities continue to affect millions of Americans. Socioeconomic status and access to healthcare services are pivotal in determining health outcomes, leaving underserved populations at a disadvantage. To address these issues, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced changes in the Medicare Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program to incentivize quality care for all.  In this blog, we provide an update, discuss recent data and analyze the national impact. Read on for our interpretation of the CMS VBP Program and how it aims to advance health equity.   Understanding the Hospital VBP Program  The Hospital VBP Program aims to reward acute care hospitals with incentive payments based on their quality of care. This initiative ties a portion of Medicare payments to performance on quality measures, putting 2.0% of a hospital's base operating IPPS revenue at risk. CM...

Key IPPS updates you need to know about  On April 10, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the federal fiscal year (FFY)   2025 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule . This rule proposes significant changes and updates to Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments and policies.  Understanding these changes is crucial for healthcare professionals, state hospital associations and multi-state health systems. This blog aims to break down the key points and implications of this proposed rule to help you stay informed and prepared.  Overview of the proposed rule  The proposed rule includes regular updates to wage indexes and the market basket. Below are some policies being proposed.  1. Data utilization for standard calculations  CMS plans to use FFY 2023 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) claims data and FFY 2022 Hospital Cost Reporting Information System (HCRIS) data for standard calculations. Using Med...

Healthcare providers face difficult choices that can pit their number one priority ─ care quality ─ against the need to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Healthcare providers can achieve all of these goals using data analytics. An analytics-first strategy enables hospitals, health systems and state hospital associations to make data-informed decisions, not best guesses. This proactive approach can illuminate trends and provide real-time insights that are often hidden or seen too late to change outcomes. Data from your Medicare quality programs tell a compelling story, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. DataGen uses Medicare impact modeling, expert analysis and visualizations to reveal data-informed narratives about your performance on three CMS programs: Value-Based Purchasing (VBP); Readmission Reduction Program (RRP); and Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HAC) Reduction Program. Do you know your organization’s stories? The biggest and best tool in your healthcare management toolkit: Da...