CMS slowly rolls out changes to the complex system of hospital and physician quality measures through annual rulemaking, typically working a couple of years in advance. See the spring hospital inpatient rulemaking, or the summer physician annual rulemaking, and so on.
On December 22, 2020, CMS released a lengthy PDF of possible new measures for future consideration. This is a legally required process that essentially puts a review and comment period ahead of the next year's formal rulemaking for each provider category.
See the press release here. Comments open through end of January. See PDF of proposals here.
Other News - CMS and Value-Based Drug Pricing
In other CMS quality news, CMS finalized rules that liberalize "value based drug deals" where payments are tied to health quality - here. CMS writes: "The rule overhauls existing regulations that made structuring value-based payments difficult,.. Under these types of deals, payers negotiate prices with drugmakers based on outcomes and evidence-based measures like reduced hospitalizations or lab visits, and aren't accountable for the full price if those measures aren't met."
