CMS reminds hospitals how to request quality measurement program exceptions, reviews COVID-19 measure suppressions

Hospitals experiencing an extraordinary circumstance beyond their control affecting their ability to submit data or their performance may continue to request an exception to reporting required quality data, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reminded hospitals last week in a notice. CMS will evaluate and grant exception requests on a case-by-case basis. The notice also recaps how CMS has applied the COVID-19 measure suppression policy it adopted last year. The suppression policy allows CMS to exclude measures and data timeframes the agency believes have been adversely affected by the pandemic in calculating hospital performance.