The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently shared updates on the upcoming implementation of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) expansion. CMS has created a 50-minute recorded presentation covering the quality measures, which will be used to assess home health agencies' participation in VBP starting in January 2023. It has also created a guide on how to use existing Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) processes to support improvement in the expanded model. Members should note that CMS intends to provide resources and training in 2022, with the first full performance year starting in Calendar Year (CY) 2023.

There are five Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS)-based measures, two claims-based measures, and five Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) measures being used to assess agencies. Ten of the 12 quality measures have a number of existing reports available to providers on the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). Publicly reported data is also available for review on Care Compare. These existing resources will help agencies understand their current performance on measures for the expanded model.

In April 2020, CMS provided a blanket waiver for QAPI programs to allow for home health agencies to focus on infection control and adverse events for QAPI requirements in response to the Public Health Emergency (PHE). While this waiver is still in effect until the end of the PHE is announced, home health agencies will need to start focusing on the 12 core measures of the expanded HHVBP program.

Resources for this requirement are available on the CMS website under "HHVBP Resources." It will be updated with new resources in the weeks and months to come.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871