ACO ReportingAlternative Payment Models (APM)Future of Health CareMACRAMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Population HealthPQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health Care
June 7, 2016

Proposed MACRA Rules: Your APM Strategy for Risk Readiness

If you chose not to participate in Medicare ACOs or Bundled Payments in recent years, CMS is planning to change your mind. Proposed MACRA Rules reveal a complex carrot-and-stick approach to inducing providers into risk models. Make no mistake: it’s just a matter of when, not if, you participate in one of the Alternative Payment Models (APMs). It will pay (literally) to begin planning your path to risk now. Here are five important provisions in the Proposed Rules that you need to understand: Full qualification as an Advanced APM earns a 5 percent lump sum bonus, exemption from participation in…
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Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)PQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Payment Modifier
May 24, 2016

Large Practice PQRS Reporting: Act Now Before GPRO Self-Nomination Deadline

If you’re still on the fence about reporting PQRS as a Group or Individual for 2016, it’s decision time. With the June 30 deadline for Group Reporting self-nomination just over a month away, you need to check out your options now or risk expensive reporting failures. These are your choices: Report for providers individually, which means that at least 50 percent of eligible professionals billing under one TIN must successfully meet PQRS reporting criteria; Report for providers using a Group Reporting Option (GRPO) in one of three ways: a. GPRO Registry option, by which you select a Registry to perform…
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Alternative Payment Models (APM)MACRAMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Performance ImprovementPQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health CareValue-Based Payment Modifier
May 3, 2016

Know the F.A.C.T.S.: 2016 Proposed MACRA Rule Highlights

Just over a year since the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) passed, the new Proposed MACRA Rule was released on April 27. Now we finally have some details on how Fee For Service will yield to reimbursement through value. There’s a lot to digest in this hefty rule and a great deal at stake, including hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and incentives. Here’s what you need to know about the proposal and how it affects you. And if you have concerns, be sure to speak up during the 60-day comment period! As anticipated, Alternative…
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ACO ReportingAlternative Payment Models (APM)Clinical Data RegistryPQRS ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health CareValue-Based Payment Modifier
April 5, 2016

If Your Solution to PQRS Reporting Is an ACO, Think Again

Problems with PQRS reporting this year? As a Registry that works with groups ranging from Academic Medical Centers to solo practitioners, we’ve seen the whole gamut of issues. While there are no quick and easy solutions (sorry), the biggest myth we’re hearing this year is that you can solve all your PQRS problems by forming an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). It’s certainly true that if your ACO reports successfully—and most do—you are not required also to report for PQRS. But before you take the huge organizational leap to forming or joining an ACO, you’d best read the fine print. For…
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Future of Health CarePerformance ImprovementPQRS ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health CareValue-Based Payment Modifier
March 15, 2016

Still Not Sure of PQRS-VBPM? You Just Gave Your Competitor a Huge Bonus

If you still need a good reason to meet all PQRS requirements and improve your quality tiering under the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBPM or Value Modifier), listen up: Failure to do so means your penalty will end up in your competitor’s pocket. Not only that—the 2016 Value Modifier Adjustment Factor (AF) for incentive payments has just been decided by CMS, and it’s an eye-popping 15.92 percent on all allowable Medicare Part B charges. Simply put, those groups whose Quality and Resource Use Reports (QRURs) showed 1.0 x AF will earn close to an additional 16 percent incentive payment, more than…
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