Provider and Stakeholder Engagement

About this Page

The Provider and Stakeholder Engagement web page is where Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posts engagement materials, upcoming opportunities, and activities. The opportunities relate to CMS’ ongoing efforts to develop new quality measures for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP), develop the new hospice patient assessment, Hospice Outcomes & Patient Evaluation (HOPE), and maintain the Hospice Item Set (HIS). CMS’ processes, inclusive of opportunities for engagement, follow standard guidelines for measure and instrument development which are further described on the Quality Measure Development web page.

Opportunities

CMS actively seeks to engage with stakeholders as it develops new quality measures, including those for HOPE. CMS aims to provide as many relevant opportunities as possible to solicit comments from the public, including but not limited to open door forums (ODF’s) and HQRP Forums, technical expert panels (TEPs), focus groups, and expert interviews. Announcements related to these stakeholder engagement opportunities will appear on the Announcements & Spotlight page of this website, and the full list of engagements are available on this web page. Materials from recent HQRP Forums are available in the Downloads section below. If you would like to communicate with CMS about HOPE or quality measures, please email HospiceAssessment@cms.hhs.gov.

HQRP Updates

In addition to the CMS HQRP website, providers can access updates by signing up for listservs pertinent to the HQRP by visiting each of the links for the listservs below:

1. Subscribe to the Post-Acute Care (PAC) QRP listserv for the latest Hospice quality reporting information including, but not limited to, training, stakeholder engagement opportunities, and general updates about reporting requirements, quality measures, and reporting deadlines.
2. Open Door Forum (ODF) listserv: CMS regularly holds ODFs in which CMS makes announcements pertinent to various programs/care settings. ODFs are also an opportunity for live dialogue between CMS and the provider community at large. The specific ODF pertinent to the HQRP is the "Home Health, Hospice, and Durable Medical Equipment Open Door Forum." Click here to sign up for this listserv, and click on the "Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum Mailing List Sign Up" link at the bottom of the web page, under Related Links.
3. MLN Connects: Weekly newsletter which contains CMS program and policy details, updates and announcements, press releases, upcoming educational event registration and reminders, claim, pricer, and code information and updates on new and revised MLN Publications. Subscribe to the weekly email newsletter.
4. QIES Technical Support Office (QTSO) web page and email communications: Providers can access technical and program-level updates. This could include assessment submission system updates, trainings, data specification updates, report updates, or system downtimes.

Updates

May 24, 2023

Home Health & Hospice Health Equity Technical Expert Panel Report

CMS has released the Home Health & Hospice Health Equity Technical Expert Panel (TEP) Report.  This report provides a summary of the TEP’s input on options for health equity measurement in the home health and hospice care settings. Specific topics include: health equity in hospice and home health, social determinants of heath, disparities in access to care and quality of care, and health equity measurement and monitoring.

The Home Health & Hospice Health Equity TEP Report is available in the “Related Links” section of the Hospice QRP Health Equity webpage.

December 16, 2022

Updated Information Gathering Report for Hospice Quality Reporting Program

CMS has released the Hospice Quality Reported Program 2022 Information Gathering Reporting. This report provides information from literature reviews and expert interviews that supports expansion of the hospice quality reporting program. Specific topics include: health equity in hospice access and enrollment, health equity in hospice care, and recent hospice quality research.

The updated Information Gathering Report is available in the Downloads section of the Provider and Stakeholder Engagement web page.

February 25, 2022

Updated Technical Expert Panel Summary Report for Hospice Quality Reporting Program

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Hospice Quality Reported Program 2021 Technical Expert Panel (TEP) Summary Report. This report details discussions with the HQRP Technical Expert Panel over the last year. Topics include HOPE process measures, use of patient preference and tolerance data in quality measures, the potential development of quality measures from complaints surveys and deficiencies data, and other potential quality measure concepts.

The updated TEP Summary Report is available in the Downloads section of the Provider and Stakeholder Engagement web page.