MIPS Blog

In the 2021 Final Rule for the Quality Payment Program (QPP), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced a new reporting framework for MIPS Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) called the APM Performance Pathway (APP).  CMS will also sunset the Web Interface as a collection and submission type in 2022.  In this article we highlight the implications for ACOs as they are required to report through the APP, including the new APP quality measure set and strategies for successful reporting.  

CMS has updated the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Participation Status Tool for the 2020 performance year.  You can now check your final 2020 eligibility status for the Merit-based Incentive Payment Program (MIPS) and the Alternative Payment Model (APM) program by entering your individual National Provider Identifier (NPI) into the tool or checking your MDinteractive account dashboard.  Your initial 2021 MIPS eligibility status is also available.  It's important to understand your eligibility status since MIPS eligible clinicians who do not report MIPS this year could receive a 9% penalty against their Medicare Part B payments in 2022.

On December 1, 2020 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2021 Final Rule for the Quality Payment Program (QPP) with changes to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs). Here is a look at some key highlights of the QPP changes and how they could impact your practice.

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program will have new reporting requirements beginning in 2021.  In its Final Regulation for the Quality Payment Program (QPP), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is changing the data that these organizations must report each year and how the data gets submitted. The changes are intended to reduce reporting burdens and improve patient outcomes. ACOs will be able to partner with CMS Qualified Registries like MDinteractive to meet their data reporting needs.

The clock is ticking for clinicians and groups who want to report MIPS. MDinteractive can report all available registry and EHR MIPS Quality measures and is here to help, whether you have been collecting data throughout the year or are just getting started. In this article we explain how to choose your Quality measures, and the benefits of using a registry like MDinteractive. With the end of the 2020 performance year getting closer, there’s still time to choose measures to report and start gathering your data.

The MIPS Promoting Interoperability (PI) category, which replaced the Meaningful Use program, establishes requirements that promote the electronic exchange of information using certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT). 2015 Edition CEHRT is required to attest to the PI category. MIPS eligible clinicians and groups are scored on their performance on several PI measures. Making sense of all of the requirements can be challenging, so in this blog we will explain how to report PI and the potential impact on your final MIPS score.

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 CMS data, the majority of practices are choosing to report as a group. 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.

Improvement Activities (IA) is one of 4 categories under the MIPS program. This year many clinicians are choosing to attest to Improvement Activities, in addition to reporting another MIPS category, to ensure they reach the minimum threshold of 45 points to avoid any MIPS penalty. Attesting to IA is a simple process. In this article we provide an overview of the IA category and tips on how to identify activities most relevant to your practice.

We understand that keeping track of important dates for MIPS reporting can be a challenge, so we have prepared two lists of key dates to mark on your calendars for your 2020 and 2021 MIPS reporting.  Knowing what to do, and when, throughout the calendar year can save you a lot of headaches when it’s time to report and help you avoid paying any MIPS penalties.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Primary Care First (PCF) program is a new alternative payment model designed to support the delivery of advanced primary care. The program will begin in 2021 and will examine whether financial risk and performance based payments that reward primary care clinicians will lower Medicare costs and improve health care quality. PCF participants must annually report data on specific quality measures, including the quality measure Advance Care Plan which requires a Qualified Registry or QCDR vendor for reporting since it is not an EHR reportable measure. As a CMS Qualified Registry, MDinteractive can support practices participating in the program by reporting this measure on their behalf.