With only a month left of 2017, practices should be wrapping up their Improvement Activities. MIPS requires at least 90 consecutive days of participation in order for a group or clinician to attest that an Improvement Activity is complete—meaning that the last day to start was October 2. The Improvement Activity portion of MIPS is […]
The 2018 Quality Payment Program Final Rule: What You Need to Know
Halloween may be over, but CMS has given us one more scare—a 1,653-page Final Rule for Year 2 of the Quality Payment Program. The Proposed Rule represents the next phase of the transition into a full-fledged Quality Payment Program. For eligible providers, more is required to avoid penalties, but CMS has defined the process to […]
Physicians Aren’t Engaged in Performance Because Measure Results Aren’t Real
According to management guru Peter Drucker, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it.” Quality measurement and reporting have been rooted in similar reasoning. The idea is that we find out what’s wrong, and then we launch programs to improve it. That’s the linear route mapped out by Medicare starting with Meaningful Use, PQRS […]
October 2 Is Almost Here: Are You MIPS-Ready?
Calendar check! October 2, the last chance to start your continuous 90-day participation in MIPS, is nearly here. Those who meet minimum standards in the “Pick Your Pace” transition year will avoid a whopping 4 percent penalty on their 2019 Medicare Part B reimbursements. Those who exceed these requirements and perform strongly in MIPS stand […]
CMS Eliminates Episode Groups in MIPS Cost Tracking for 2018—But Providers Should Not
It’s no surprise that Cost is one of the most significant targets of Medicare Value-Based Health Care initiatives, as well as those in the private sector. So it was a real surprise last month to learn that CMS would delay weighing Cost as a component of MACRA MIPS total scoring. Equally significant is the CMS […]
How to Evolve MACRA MIPS Quality Reporting for Better Physician and Patient Value
Critics are pushing back against Medicare quality reporting, deeming it burdensome and time-consuming to meet confusing quality measures. One survey asserts that barely a majority feel knowledgeable about MACRA or prepared to achieve long-term success. Indeed, CMS is pulling back on program requirements, with the stated desire of making it easier for physicians. So, here’s […]
Why Real Improvement Pays in Your MIPS Improvement Activities Strategy
What separates MIPS from its quality program predecessors? On the Quality Payment Program website, the only component that isn’t a reincarnation of a previous program is the Improvement Activities (IA) category. Although the IA category has a smaller weight than the Quality category, it has the potential to be just as important, if not more […]
The Future of MACRA: Will MIPS Survive?
Will MIPS survive as Medicare’s overarching performance measurement and improvement program for physicians? That’s the question as providers finalize their plans for meeting requirements in 2017 and beyond. MIPS Is in Adjustment Mode MIPS is undergoing a significant transition. How do we know? First, the ink is hardly dry on the huge rewrite of various […]
10 Takeaways from the Proposed Rule for MIPS and APMs Year 2
We are already more than halfway through the initial year of Medicare’s new Quality Payment Program, which includes MIPS and APMs. Yet already we are seeing some changes from the new administration that will relax requirements for providers, eliminating the need for some to participate and making quality reporting, in particular, easier. Regardless of how […]
Best Practice MIPS Quality Reporting: QCDR Group with Individual Accountability
The “transition” phase of the Merit-Based Payment System (MIPS) is half over, and so, too, is the time needed to prepare for the full rollout in 2018. Yet during the 2017 MIPS “transition” year, many providers are still trying to pigeonhole MACRA’s MIPS into the previous quality program, PQRS. That choice may have worked for […]