Feb 26 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces the opportunity for the public to comment to OMB by March 28, 2024 on CMS' proposal to collect information through CMS–10500: National Implementation of the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey. [Comments due 30 days after submission to OMB on February 27.]
As documented in the CY 2022 OPPS/ASC Final Rule (86 FR 63863 through 63866), OAS CAHPS Survey data will be linked to reimbursement beginning with CY 2024 for HOPDs and CY 2025 for ASCs. ASCs will continue with voluntary implementation of the OAS CAHPS Survey throughout CY 2024.
HOPDs and ASCs contract with a CMS-approved, independent third-party survey vendor to implement the survey on their behalf and to submit the OAS CAHPS data to CMS. CMS publicly reports comparative results from OAS CAHPS after each facility has conducted data collection for 4 quarters. Data from OAS CAHPS enable consumers to make more informed decisions when choosing an outpatient surgery facility, aid facilities in their quality improvement efforts, and help CMS monitor the performance of outpatient surgery facilities. Considering the increasing Medicare expenditures for outpatient surgical services from HOPDs and ASCs, the implementation of OAS CAHPS provides CMS with much-needed statistically valid data from the patient perspective to inform quality improvement and comparative consumer information about specific facilities. The information collected in the OAS CAHPS survey will be used for the following purposes:
-- To provide a source of information from which patient experience of care measures can be publicly reported to beneficiaries to help them make informed decisions for outpatient surgery facility selection;
-- To aid facilities with their internal quality improvement efforts and external benchmarking with other facilities; and
-- To provide CMS with information for monitoring and public reporting purposes.
OAS CAHPS scores have been publicly reported on the Medicare.gov website since 2018 and will be used in the payment determination for Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for hospitals that participate in the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (Hospital OQR) program beginning with the CY 2024 data collection period and will be used for the payment determinations for ASC Payment System for ASCs that participate in the ASC Quality Reporting Program (ASCQR) beginning with the CY 2025 data collection period.
CMS OAS CAHPS:
https://www.cms.gov/data-research/research/consumer-assessment-healthcare-providers-systems/outpatient-and-ambulatory-surgery-cahps
AHRQ OAS CAHPS:
https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/surveys-guidance/oas/index.html
CMS submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202402-0938-009 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-03866 #2
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806
