On Friday, June 29, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released group and individual scores to Eligible Clinicians (EC) for the 2017 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The scores that ECs received will impact their Medicare Part B payments on allowed charges in 2019.
ECs and practices may access their 2017 performance feedback and final score by logging onto their Enterprise Identify Management (EIDM) account via the Quality Payment Program (QP) webpage.
Most physicians and clinicians who bill Medicare were required to report MIPS in 2017. That year, ECs only excluded those physicians where were newly enrolled in Medicare, those participating in an Advanced Alternative Payment Model or those physicians and other clinicians who had Medicare Part B allowed charges less than or equal to $30,000 or who provided care for 100 or fewer Part B-enrolled Medicare beneficiaries.
About 91% of clinicians deemed eligible for MIPS reported in 2017. Each physician or group was scored in three of the four MIPS categories (quality, advancing care information and improvement activities). The Cost Component was not scored in 2017.
ECs who received 3 or more points out of a possible 100 points avoided a penalty. Those scoring above 3 points are expected to receive bonus payments of up to 4% (on a sliding scale from 0% to 4%) of their allowed charges in 2019. ECs or their practices who receive 0 points will receive a -4% payment adjustment on their allowed charges next year.
Please contact the Quality Payment Program administrators if you have questions about your score. You may e-mail QPP at: [email protected] or call: 866/288-8292.
For information on the 2017 MIPS categories, please visit the ASA MACRA website and click on “2017 performance year.” Please contact the Department of Quality and Regulatory Affairs (QRA) at [email protected] for further questions.