Cost and Efficiency Final Report - Fall 2020 Cycle 

Current levels of healthcare spending and growth in the United States have the potential to increase federal deficits and crowd out spending for other important national priorities. Economic realities like these require performance measures that can accurately capture spending, especially when spending arises from inefficient or poor‐quality care. Together, cost and quality measures can help to assess the efficiency and value of care delivered. A key area where cost measurement continues to be a critical component to assess the efficiency of the healthcare system is in post-acute care settings, including inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies. During the fall 2020 cycle, NQF convened a multi-stakeholder Standing Committee to evaluate one measure undergoing maintenance endorsement consideration against the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) evaluation criteria. The focus of the measure is to assess the cost to Medicare for Part A and Part B services performed by hospitals and other healthcare providers during a Medicare Spending per Beneficiary (MSPB) Hospital episode. Ultimately, the Standing Committee recommended the measure for endorsement and the Consensus Standards Approval Committee upheld the Standing Committee’s recommendations to endorse the measure.