Healthmonix Advisor

On Tuesday April 24th, CMS released a proposed rule which essentially overhauls the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs (also known as the “Meaningful Use” program). The proposed rule includes updates to Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS). Here are five things you should know about the proposed changes:

With the first performance year of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) drawing to a close, you may have just started getting accustomed to how MIPS reporting works. Although the 2018 MACRA final rule introduced changes to how MIPS performance data should be captured for the upcoming performance year, it may be a relief to hear that largely the changes just build upon the existing 2017 regulations.

The Advancing Care Information (ACI) Performance Category is Meaningful Use updated to be more flexible, customizable, flexible and focused on patient engagement and interoperability. ACI is worth 25% of your MIPS Composite Performance Score.

The Advancing Care Information Performance Category will be replacing the EHR Incentive Program (colloquially known as Meaningful Use) for 2017 performance year, as a part of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). One of three performance categories to be scored for 2017 reporting, ACI will be worth 25% of your total MIPS Composite Performance Score. Non-physician eligible clinicians, hospital-based eligible clinicians, and non-patient facing eligible clinicians are considered ineligible for Advancing Care Information, and will have this performance category automatically re-weighted to zero.

The MACRA Quality Payment Program final rule, released Oct. 14, finalizes the payment programs for physicians under MACRA’s Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), beginning January 1, 2017. 

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the final rule with comment period for the Quality Payment Program under MACRA. Consistent with what was discussed in the proposed rule, the MACRA Quality Payment Program will have two tracks: (1) Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). 

Last week, we discussed what clinicians are eligible for MIPS, the base score for Advancing Care Information (ACI), and what the performance period is for ACI. This is part two of our "5 Key Facts You Need to Know for Advancing Care Information" series. 

Per the blog post last week, the proposed rule for MACRA's MIPS, effective January 1, 2017, the Meaningful Use electronic health records (EHR) incentive program will be folded into the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for Eligible Providers. The successor to Meaningful Use, known as Advancing Care Information, includes fewer measures than the current program, intends to provide more flexibility in meeting those criteria, and stresses the use of technology to improve patient care.

Per the MACRA Quality Payment Final Rule, effective January 1, 2017, the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program (Meaningful Use) will be folded into the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for Eligible Providers. The successor to Meaningful Use, known as Advancing Care Information, includes fewer measures than the current program (yeah!), intends to provide more flexibility in meeting those criteria, and stresses the use of technology to improve patient care. To help you maximize your performance in this category, we have compiled the top five things you need to know now to prepare for next year.

As a young adult from a small town in Ohio, the prospect of leaving my hometown to go to college was a frightening one. I was anxious to leave the familiarity of my high school, and the routine I had perfected to remain an A student. The only expectation that I had was given to me by my teachers, who reported that college would be significantly different and more challenging than high school. As I packed up my ‘63 International Scout to drive to college in August of 1975, the fear of failure was present and strong. However, when I arrived, I found the classes were similar, the pedagogical approach was the same, and as long as I showed up and did the work, I could do as well as I did in high school.