On December 20, 2006, President Bush signed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. This legislation authorizes a financial incentive for eligible professionals to participate in a voluntary quality reporting program. The new Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) would allow participating individuals to report on a designated set of quality measures between July 1 and December 31, 2007, in exchange for a 1.5 percent bonus payment on their charges (subject to a cap) under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. CMS has recently published a Medlearn Matters article to better help the medical community understand the new PQRI program. A copy of this article is posted below.

Medlearn Matters Article on PQRI Program (PDF)