Cost and Efficiency Final Report - Spring 2020 Cycle 

Current levels of healthcare spending and growth in the United States have the potential to increase federal deficits and crowd out spending for other important national priorities. These economic realities require performance measures that can accurately capture spending, particularly spending that results from inefficient or poor‐quality care. Cost and quality measures used together can help to assess efficiency and value of care delivered. A key area where cost measurement continues to be a critical component to assess the efficiency of the healthcare system is in post-acute care settings, including inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies. During the spring 2020 cycle, NQF convened a multi-stakeholder Standing Committee to evaluate six new cost measures and make recommendations for endorsement. Ultimately, the Standing Committee recommended three measures for endorsement and did not recommend three measures for endorsement. The Consensus Standards Approval Committee upheld the Standing Committee’s recommendations.