On November 25, 2015 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its updated 2016 CMS Quality Strategy. This updated version incorporates progress made in shifting Medicare payments from volume to value, progress made on various payment reform initiatives as well as new requirements from the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act) and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) legislation.
CMS has a goal, set out by the Administration, to shift Medicare payments from volume to value – tying 30 percent of traditional Medicare payments to alternative payment models and tying 85 percent of all traditional Medicare payments to quality or value – by the end of 2016. The purpose of this document is to guide the various components of CMS, including Medicaid, Medicare and the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, as they work together toward the common goal of health system transformation. More information on the CMS quality strategy is available on the CMS website.
