WASHINGTON, DC — Today, members of the House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill to strengthen the Medicare program by rewarding quality, innovation, and excellence in health care within the post-acute care services.

H.R. 3298, the Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act of 2015, introduced by Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Health Subcommittee Member Ron Kind (D-WI), would establish a value-based purchasing program across four settings in Medicare—home health agencies, skilled-nursing facilities, inpatient-rehabilitation facilities and long-term-care hospitals.

Value-based purchasing motivates local health care providers to improve the quality of care for Medicare patients and rewards their innovation and efficiency with higher Medicare reimbursements.

In introducing H.R. 3298, Subcommittee Chairman Brady said, “This legislation is the next step in saving Medicare for the long term. By providing the right incentives, it will bring increased quality and competition to Medicare by rewarding excellence and high-quality care to seniors. This Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act rewards providers that set themselves apart, raising the bar for patient care nationwide.”

Rep. Kind said, “I have been working with our Wisconsin health care providers to reform our delivery system and change the way we pay for health care so it’s more integrated, coordinated, and patient-focused, while improving quality and lowering costs. One way we can do this is by moving to a more value- and outcome-based payment structure, which will help move the system away from fee for service and reimburse for value and not volume.”

In addition, Chairman Brady and Rep. Kind also sent a letter to Secretary Burwell on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recent home health proposal.

In releasing the letter, Subcommittee Chairman Brady and Rep. Kind said, “A post-acute care value-based purchasing program offers providers and beneficiaries a better path forward than what is currently envisioned in CMS’s proposed home health pilot.”

A one-page description of the PAC VBP bill can be found here.

A section-by-section for the PAC VBP bill can be found here.

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