MIPS Blog

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its proposed rule for the Quality Payment Program (QPP), with several proposed changes to MIPS in 2020 and future reporting years. A final rule will be released later this fall after a public comment period. The proposed rule would continue to gradually increase the reporting requirements under the MIPS program. In this article we will highlight the most important proposed changes you need to know for the 2020 performance year and how they could impact your bottom line. We will also cover how CMS plans to transform the program in 2021 to reduce your reporting burden.

CMS has released the 2018 MIPS performance feedback. The feedback will include a clinician or group’s performance category scores, final MIPS score and payment adjustment information. Any upward, downward or neutral payment adjustment will apply to the clinician or group’s 2020 Medicare Part B payments for covered professional services. CMS is allowing a Targeted Review to be requested until September 30, 2019.

The 2019 MIPS performance period is in full swing. MIPS eligible clinicians and groups must achieve at least 30 MIPS points in 2019 to avoid any penalty. If they choose not to report, it’s an automatic 7% penalty against their 2021 Medicare Part B payments.  We have developed this MIPS Reporting Checklist to explain your reporting options and help you plan your strategy for participating in MIPS this year.

CMS has revamped the MIPS Promoting Interoperability (PI) category for the 2019 performance year, focusing more on interoperability and patient access to their health information. Beginning this year, 2015 Edition Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) is required to attest to the PI category. Additionally, the PI measures have been modified and MIPS eligible clinicians and groups will be scored solely on their performance on the measures. Making sense of all of the requirements can be challenging, so in this blog we will examine the major changes and how they could impact MIPS scores.

With another MIPS performance year behind us, it is not too early to start thinking about a reporting strategy to ensure MIPS success for 2019. This year CMS is providing new flexibility to report quality measures through multiple submission methods which can help improve MIPS scores and increase incentive payments. In this article we demonstrate how combining registry and EHR measures will help specific clinicians with their MIPS reporting. The strategy would not only boost their MIPS scores, but it would also increase their Medicare payments by thousands of dollars.

If you have two or more clinicians billing with the same Tax Identification Number (TIN) in your practice, you should consider reporting MIPS as a group to gain some administrative relief and possibly increase your chances for success. According to a recent CMS 2017 Quality Payment Program Experience Report, more practices chose to report as a group during the first year of the program. An estimated 54% of clinicians reported as a group in 2017. There are many reasons why group reporting is the preferred option for clinicians. Let’s take a look at what group reporting means, and why it may benefit your practice.

CMS recently reported that 95% of MIPS eligible clinicians received a positive or neutral payment adjustment for their MIPS performance in 2017. Unfortunately, this means that 5% of MIPS eligible clinicians will be penalized in 2019 for not reporting MIPS last year. And the penalty for not reporting is even higher this year - an automatic 5% deduction of your 2020 Medicare reimbursements. There’s still time to report MIPS for 2018 to protect your Medicare reimbursement. MDinteractive’s 2018 MIPS Reporting Checklist will guide you through the steps to take now to successfully report MIPS.

CMS has updated the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Participation Status Tool for clinicians to check their final 2018 eligibility status for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Clinicians can enter their individual National Provider Identifier (NPI) here to learn if they are required to report MIPS for 2018. It’s important for them to check their eligibility status now to determine if they must report.  MIPS eligible clinicians who do not report MIPS this year will receive an automatic negative 5% penalty on their Medicare Part B payments in 2020.

The wait is over - the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finally released the 2019 Quality Payment Program Final Rule  which takes effect on January 1, 2019. There are several changes to MIPS for the 2019 performance year. While providers are still working to complete their 2018 reporting requirements, it’s a good idea to become familiar with some of the changes ahead and understand how you might be impacted.

As we head into the final stretch of Year 2 of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), clinicians can finally see the finish line approaching for the 2018 performance year. This year MIPS is made up of 4 components: Quality, Promoting Interoperability (formerly ACI), Improvement Activities and Cost. The Quality category accounts for the most at 50% of your total MIPS score. While many clinicians have already collected data throughout the year, it’s not too late to develop a strategy to successfully report Quality and potentially maximize your Medicare reimbursements in 2020.