Acting CMS Administrator Weems Outlines Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Program Participation Rates
About 99,000 physicians -- or about 16% of those eligible to participate in the Medicare quality reporting program -- submitted reports at least once during the 2007 reporting period, acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems wrote in a recent letter to the Senate Finance Committee, CQ HealthBeat reports. In areas with the highest levels of participation in the program, almost 20% of physicians submitted reports, with higher-than-average rates of participation among anesthesiologists, ophthalmologists and emergency care physicians, Weems wrote (CQ HealthBeat, 2/26).
Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Tuesday praised the progress of CMS on the program but said the agency must do more to ensure that Medicare pays for quality services. In a statement, Baucus said, "The proof lies in the results, and CMS must now take important steps to improve how it collects information about provider performance and expand opportunities for doctors to participate" (CQ HealthBeat, 2/26).
