HCFA Clarifies Scully Comments, Won’t Offer ‘Scorecard’
HCFA officials yesterday issued a clarification of administrator Thomas Scully's comments Monday that the agency intended to issue ratings of the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries, saying that the agency has no plans to "create a scorecard of ratings," the Associated Press reports. HCFA plans only to "improve the state and private information it collects on nursing homes, dialysis centers and other health care providers," spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz said (Associated Press, 6/5). The Washington Post reported yesterday that Scully said Monday that the agency would offer "detailed ratings" of providers. The initiative was to be part of a larger effort to overhaul HCFA. Ashkenaz said, "We are not in the business of rating any of these providers." He added that the federal government now offers Medicare beneficiaries information on care givers that is culled from state health agencies, but that the information represents "survey results," not ratings. The federal government has "no plans to use the data to rate providers or to release such information," Ashkenaz said (Associated Press, 6/5).
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