The Hospital Inpatient Quality
Reporting Program (IQR) program was first established to implement
section 5001(b) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and
Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Pub. L. 108-173), which authorized
CMS to pay hospitals that successfully reported quality measures a
higher annual update to their payment rates. It builds on a
voluntary Inpatient Quality Reporting program which remains in
effect. The Hospital IQR program formerly known as the Reporting
Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update program, began with
an initial set of 10 measures. Section 5001(a) of the Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) (Pub. L. 109-171) revised the mechanism
used to update the standardized amount for payment for hospital
inpatient operating costs. This is reflected in Sections
1886(b)(3)(B)(viii)(I) and (II) of the Social Security Act which
provide that the annual payment update (APU) will be reduced for
any "subsection (d) hospital" that does not submit certain quality
data in a form and manner, and at a time, specified by the
Secretary. Section 5001(a) of the DRA also expanded the scope of
IQR, requiring CMS to add new measures. Sections
1886(b)(3)(B)(viii)(III) through (V) of the Social Security Act,
required CMS to "adopt the baseline set of performance measures as
set forth in the November 2005 report by the Institute of Medicine
of the National Academy of Sciences", instructed the Secretary to
"add other measures that reflect consensus among affected parties",
and allowed the Secretary to "replace any measures or indicators in
appropriate cases". When adding new measures, the law required CMS
when "feasible and practical" to select measures put forward by
"one or more national consensus building entities".
CMS reduces the reporting
burden for quality of care information collected by allowing
hospitals to abstract data directly into electronic systems in lieu
of submitting paper charts or to utlize electronic data that they
already report to JCO for accreditation.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.