In MIPS, you can earn a payment adjustment based on evidence-based and practice-specific quality data. MIPS is the category that will apply to most physicians:
- Moves Medicare Part B clinicians to a performance-based payment system
- Provides clinicians with flexibility to choose the activities and measures that are most meaningful to their practice
- Reporting standards align with Advanced APMs wherever possible
Key Takeaway
Positive adjustments are based on the performance data of the performance information submitted, not the amount of information or length-of-time submitted. You can submit 90 days of information with great quality and receive a higher percentage than someone who submitted all year with acceptable quality.
Potential Financial Rewards
Although MACRA creates separate paths for payments under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), these paths are in addition to, not in replacement of, the PFS.
MACRA replaced SGR with a schedule that will increase baseline Medicare Part B payments by 0.5% per year until 2019. The first payment adjustments will be based on performance year 2017 and will reflect in your 2019 Medicare payments.
If you participate in an Advanced APM, you will receive a + payment adjustment of 5% every year, beginning in 2019.
PQRS Payment Reminder: PQRS will be referred to as a “legacy program.” The last performance year of this program was 2016. If you participated this last year, your payment adjustment will take place in 2018. As a reminder, this is not associated with your 2018 MIPS performance.