Q: Are new measures included in the expanded SNF VBP Program the same ones used in SNF QRP?
A: Not entirely. Currently, the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) program uses the SNF 30-day All-Cause Readmission Measure (SNFRM) to evaluate the risk-standardized readmission rate of all unplanned, all-cause readmissions.
The expanded SNF VBP Program will begin in the 2026 program year and continue to include the SNFRM along with three additional measures: Total Nurse Staffing, Nursing Staff Turnover, and Skilled Nursing Facility Healthcare-Associated Infections Requiring Hospitalization (SNF HAI).
The performance period for these measures is FY 2024, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will apply incentive payments for performance in the FY 2026 program year beginning on Oct. 1, 2025.
The SNFRM used in the SNF VBP Program is not the same measure used in SNF QRP. Rather, the comparable SNF QRP measure focuses on potentially preventable 30-day post-discharge readmissions. The Total Nurse Staffing and Nursing Staff Turnover measures also are not included in SNF QRP. The SNF HAI measure, however, is included in the SNF VBP Program and SNF QRP.
An Early Look Report was distributed earlier this year to provide SNFs an example of reporting including the new measures, how SNF VBP scoring methodology changed, and the impact those changes may have on incentive payments.
The Early Look Report does not reflect your official performance but can clue you in on your SNF’s future performance. The information also can be useful in targeting quality improvement efforts before payment is potentially affected.
Please send your payment-related questions to Eleisha Wilkes at [email protected].
From the September 2024 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
