Medicare Begins Performance-Based Payments for Physician Groups

New Demonstration Program Tests Financial Incentives for Improved Quality and Coordination in Large Group Practices

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced new initiatives to pay health care providers for the quality of the care they provide to seniors and people with a disability, reflecting an Administration commitment to reward innovative approaches to get better patient outcomes at lower costs.

"Better care should be rewarded, and thanks to growing support from health care providers and other stakeholders, we have better approaches to doing so than ever before," said CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.