Nursing homes will be subject to escrow for all civil monetary penalties, CMS announces

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is asking skilled nursing facilities and other providers to help develop better quality measures — and the agency is earmarking $30 million to sweeten the deal.

CMS officials said they want to work hand-in-hand with SNFs, along with doctors, hospitals and patients to flesh out those new measures, which are part of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System, according to the announcement.

Of particular interest are creating measures tied to orthopedic surgery, pathology, radiology, mental health and substance use disorders, oncology, palliative care and emergency medicine, Modern Healthcare reports.

“By working with practicing physicians, measures will have a degree of legitimacy that cannot be achieved when developed and pushed down by the government,” Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of government affairs for the Medical Group Management Association, told the magazine. “Physician practices can contribute significantly to this effort by testing measures in real world practice settings to ensure clinical relevance and to minimize administrative burdens.”

Stakeholders have until May 2 to apply for grant funding, with awarding of the funds starting Aug. 3.