The California Cooperative Healthcare Reporting Initiative (CCHRI) is operating a Medicare quality reporting pilot project called the California Physician Performance Initiative (CPPI). CPPI received federal funding in 2006 to develop a system for measuring and reporting the quality and cost of health care provided by physicians. CCPI is collecting data for a limited set of cost and quality measures for both Medicare patients and private PPO patients from Blue Cross, Blue Shield, and United Healthcare.

CMA has a number of concerns with the validity and accuracy of the data that has been collected and has communicated those concerns to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CPPI was set to release top-line data and physician “grades” to all California physicians last month. However, due to the concerns raised by CMA, CCHRI and CMS have agreed not to release the data until there is a process in place for physicians to verify its accuracy. CCHRI expects to have a process in place for physicians to verify the accuracy of the private PPO data by October. CMA is working with CCHRI and CMS on a process for verifying the Medicare data.

CMA is also urging CCHRI and CMS not to release the results to the general public unless and until all data has been validated for accuracy.

Contact: Armand Feliciano, 916/444-5532 or afeliciano@cmanet.org.