Legislation introduced in the U.S. House would establish a Medicare demonstration program to provide incentive payments for documented cancer treatment planning and end-of-life care.
The program would, among other factors, assess the reporting of data through electronic registries and other types of information technology. It also would test whether oncologists are able to accurately report on measures through Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System coding mechanisms.
The bill, H.R. 2872, would authorize $300 million in incentive payments annually during the demonstration program, which would last for at least two years. Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) is the sponsor.
"Although two of the critical components of cancer care are treatment planning and end-of-life care, none of the 153 quality measures in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative addresses overall treatment planning or end-of-life care for cancer patients," according to a congressional finding statement in the bill.
Full text of the legislation is available at congress.gov.
--Joseph Goedert
JUN 19, 2009 3:22pm ET
Bill Would Expand Medicare Incentives
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