© Oxford University Press 2007.
NEWS |
MEASURING UP?
Governments Move To Improve Quality and Cut Costs
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The U.S. health care system is poised to change. In December 2006, Congress passed a bill that enables the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to offer doctors a 1.5% bonus payment if they adhere to certain quality guidelines.
As part of various pilot projects, CMS already rewards health care providers for reporting specific quality measures of their care—so-called pay-for-performance programs. The new bill, however, authorizes CMS to expand the program to include all practicing physicians. It also signaled that the health care community has largely accepted the concept. The hope is that pay for performance might not only improve patient care but also save CMS money over the long term.
But determining how to put such a system into practice remains contentious. In 2004, Britain implemented the world's first national pay-for-performance system. However, since the two nations' health care systems substantially differ, Britain's system can't be adapted to
The Proposal
Learning From Britain
Issues for the U.S.