June 29, 2005

NCQA Lauds Medicare Value Purchasing Act Legislation

NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane issued the following statement regarding the proposed Medicare Value Purchasing Act of 2005:

"On behalf of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), I applaud the efforts of Chairman Grassley, Senator Baucus and their colleagues in proposing critical new Medicare reform legislation that will strengthen health care for our senior citizens by linking reimbursement for health plans, physicians, and other providers with reporting and demonstrated progress against important quality and efficiency measures.

"The Medicare Value Purchasing Act of 2005 will help further our collective national goal of improved health care quality for seniors at reasonable costs, by promoting the use of standardized, evidence-based clinical measures to track and compare the performance of providers, and by supporting the continued diffusion of health information technology in medical practices across the country.

"The bill wisely provides for key stakeholders to be involved in developing and implementing the program. It provides ample time for health plans and physicians to gain experience with the measures, and promotes coordination with comparable private sector activities. And it encourages an across-the-board focus on quality, by rewarding both high performance and incremental quality improvement, while providing for some important demonstrations to further performance measurement across the health care system.

"Once again, we commend the Senators' strong support for moving forward with value-based purchasing across the health care system, and for seeking to ensure the effectiveness of these efforts through coordination with the private sector."