The Opportunity
Previous NQF policy prohibited the consideration of socioeconomic status or other demographic factors in risk-adjusting performance measures out of concern that doing so might conceal disparities in care and result in lower standards of provider performance. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contracted with NQF to examine this policy and the broader issue of risk adjusting measures for SES. In 2014, an NQF-convened multistakeholder panel of experts in healthcare performance measurement and disparities to conduct this review. Based on the expert panel’s recommendations, the NQF Board of Directors decided to temporarily change NQF’s policy and evaluate its impact during the course of a two-year trial period.
Starting in April 2015, NQF Standing Committees can recommend that any new measures submitted for possible endorsement or any endorsed measures that are undergoing maintenance be included in the SES trial. For measures included in the trial, measure developers are requested to provide information on socioeconomic and other related factors that were available and analyzed during measure development.
About the Project
A new NQF Disparities Standing Committee (DSC) will review the effect of NQF’s revised policy on risk adjustment. Findings will be reported to the NQF board in 2017, after the conclusion of the trial. Over time, the DSC will assess emerging evidence of the impact of adjusted measures on patients and providers and monitor for unintended consequences.
Contact Information
For more information, please contact raandses@qualityforum.org.