Healthmonix Advisor

Impact of Melanoma Resection Cost Measure On Dermatologists

Posted by Lauren Patrick on December 7, 2022

If you are a dermatology practice, you probably breathed a sigh of relief when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that dermatologists, along with many other specialists, would no longer be attributed patients for the Total per Capita Cost (TPCC) measure, as part of the Cost component of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).  However, in 2022, CMS introduced a Melanoma Resection Cost measure that is attributed to those specialists that perform these resections. So the Cost category is back for many dermatologists.  Even if this is the only Cost measure that is attributed to your practice, it is worth 30 of your total 100 MIPS points - as much as all your Quality measures combined!

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Topics: MACRA & MIPS, Cost Performance Category

QPP / MIPS Reporting in 2023 - More Options, But More Challenging

Posted by Lauren Patrick on December 1, 2022

With the release of the 2023 PFS Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized most of the proposed changes for the QPP / Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program that had been released in the Proposed Rule last July.  

We are seeing that while the payment threshold is holding at 75 points, it can be tougher to achieve that threshold score with the changes in the program for 2023.

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Topics: Cost Performance Category, MIPS Value Pathways, eCQMs, Promoting Interoperability, certified electronic health record technology, 2023 PFS Final Rule, Merit-based Incentive Payment System, Improvement Activities

Why You'll Be in For a MIPS Shock - No More Bonus Points or Loopholes

Posted by Lauren Patrick on December 6, 2021

On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule which governs MIPS and other quality payment programs. Anticipated changes were made to MIPS, making the program more challenging in 2022 and signaling additional changes to the program in coming years.

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Topics: MACRA & MIPS, Quality Performance Category, IA Performance Category, Cost Performance Category, PI Performance Category, MIPS Value Pathways, 2022 PFS Final Rule

This Could Be Your First Year to Receive a MIPS Penalty. Here's Why.

Posted by Lauren Patrick on November 18, 2021

With the release of the 2020 feedback report detailing the 2.2% maximum possible payment adjustment and the release of the 2022 Final Rule, CMS has demonstrated that MIPS will be both financially rewarding and challenging, in terms of reporting requirements, in 2021 and beyond.

   

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Topics: Quality Performance Category, IA Performance Category, Cost Performance Category, PI Performance Category, 2022 PFS Final Rule

New Challenges Brought on by Changes to MIPS Threshold & Performance Categories

Posted by Lauren Patrick on September 24, 2021

With the release of the 2020 feedback report detailing the 2.2% maximum possible payment adjustment and the release of the 2022 Proposed Rule, MIPS participants find themselves wrestling with lingering disappointment from participation in the program in previous years, and resistance to the idea that MIPS will be financially rewarding and challenging, in terms of reporting requirements, in 2021 and beyond.    

This is the second in a series of blog posts on the 2020 payment adjustment and the 2022 Proposed Rule, that will address this sense of disappointment and show how the future of MIPS will contain much more rigorous program requirements and create greater financial rewards.  To see financial and program success, you will need to be prepared to meet the new challenges.  We have the guidance you need to succeed in 2021 and beyond.    

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Topics: MACRA & MIPS, Quality Performance Category, Cost Performance Category, 2022 PFS Proposed Rule

MIPS 2021 Incentives and Penalties | How Can You Prepare?

Posted by Lauren Patrick on January 14, 2021

For years, we’ve heard that the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) will provide a noticeable incentive for participants in this Medicare FFS program. And for years, there have been reasons why that has not occurred. First, CMS wanted to ‘start slow’ with the MIPS program in 2017 and 2018, so the caps on penalties and incentives were small. Then the potential penalties and incentives were raised, but the threshold for qualifying for an incentive remained low. This, coupled with the program’s budget neutrality meant there was not much revenue to distribute to high performers. Then COVID-19 negated much of the program for the last two years. So here we are, in year five, and we see that the program, for the first time, will have a significant downside and upside potential.

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Topics: MACRA & MIPS, CMS, APMs, Cost Performance Category, 2021 PFS Final Rule

What to Do in the Last 90 Days of MIPS 2020

Posted by Phillip Spence on September 30, 2020

The last 90 days of the year. Many might be ready to say goodbye to 2020 as a year filled with challenges, adjustments and ever-shifting expectations in our personal and professional lives. For those clinicians who are eligible for participation in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), the last 90 days of the year also represents the beginning of some measurement periods and the final opportunity to improve in others.

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Topics: PRO Tips, MACRA & MIPS, Quality Performance Category, IA Performance Category, Cost Performance Category, PI Performance Category

The Increasing Importance of the MIPS Cost Performance Category

Posted by Matt Major on June 2, 2020

Blog - MIPS Cost Performance

Quality and Cost are two fundamental focus areas in the Volume to Value-Based Care transition.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), seeks to incentivize higher quality care at a lower cost through programs like MIPS.  In recent years, the primary focus of MIPS has been Quality reporting, however Quality and Cost will be equally weighted in 2022.  Mandated increases and lack of insight into current MIPS scores make it a top priority for practices to learn how Cost impacts their revenue.

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Topics: MACRA & MIPS, Cost Performance Category

Practice Sustainability in the time of COVID-19

Posted by Lauren Patrick on April 19, 2020

Physician practices are confronting new operational and business challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a mounting financial and administrative toll this pandemic has placed on practices, forcing all to adapt in a variety of areas.  Much of the conversation around COVID-19 has appropriately focused on addressing the pandemic and treatment of COVID-19 patients, however, we are also keenly aware of the other impacts on practices. 

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Topics: Cost Performance Category, ROI, COVID-19

Everything You Need To Know About MIPS Cost in 2019

Posted by Christina Zink on July 18, 2019

The CY 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule involves a slew of regulatory changes that will apply to the 2019 performance year. Of course, wading through the final rule to find and understand the most important features of the policy can be grueling; but you’re in luck, because we’ve already done it so you don’t have to! In today’s blog, we’re focusing on the MIPS Cost category.

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Topics: MACRA & MIPS, Policy, Cost Performance Category