The Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP) imposes a 1% reduction in applicable Medicare fee-for-service payments on subsection (d) hospitals ranking in the worst-performing quartile based on the Total HAC Score.
For the current program, CMS uses six measures: the CMS Patient Safety and Adverse Events Composite (PSI 90) and five healthcare-associated infection measures—CLABSI, CAUTI, specified surgical-site infection, MRSA bacteremia, and C. difficile infection.
HACRP must be distinguished from the separate DRA Hospital-Acquired Condition/Present-on-Admission payment provision. CMS explicitly states that these are different programs.
Hospital Value-Based Purchasing also links quality performance with hospital payment, but its structure is different: it is funded through a 2% reduction of participating hospitals' base operating DRG payments that is redistributed through value-based incentives.
For CDI professionals, accurate clinical documentation helps ensure that quality data appropriately represent the patient's condition and hospital course. CDI should not attempt to suppress valid complications or create unsupported comorbidities to change quality performance.
CCDS Reference Topics: HACRP; PSI 90; HAIs; quality reimbursement; CMS quality programs.
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