Healthmonix Advisor

Today, CMS posted CY 2019 Updates to the Quality Payment Program to the Federal Register. Many clinicians are still trying to wrap their heads around how to report MIPS in 2018, but the release of the 2019 proposed rule is advantageous in deciding what to conquer both this year and in the future.

Today, CMS posted CY 2019 Updates to the Quality Payment Program to the Federal Register. Many clinicians are still trying to wrap their heads around how to report MIPS in 2018, but the release of the 2019 proposed rule is advantageous in deciding what to conquer both this year and in the future.

Today, CMS posted CY 2019 Updates to the Quality Payment Program to the Federal Register. Many clinicians are still trying to wrap their heads around how to report MIPS in 2018, but the release of the 2019 proposed rule is advantageous in deciding what to conquer both this year and in the future. As the title suggests, this document also covers other Quality Payment Program tracks, like Advanced APMs; however, for now we will just focus on the MIPS component of the proposed rule.

Through my work with MIPSPRO, I’m given daily opportunities to watch people reporting from the outside looking in. As a result, I’ve uncovered a few truths in reporting that providers might not notice if they’ve only ever reported through their EHRs or Claims submission. Today I want to share some of those insights with you.

In 2018, CMS is pushing even harder for the shift toward value based care. The minimum MIPS reporting score has increased from 3/100 to 15/100, and failing to report results in an automatic 5% reimbursement penalty. But if your practice or organization isn’t in a position to invest the kind of time, money, and resources that it takes to really go all in on VBC, you might be wondering: “what’s the minimum I can do to avoid the penalty?”

There is no one answer to this question, but the good news is that your practice has several options for how to report to earn a score of at least 15/100.

For many practices, one of the biggest differences between MIPS reporting for 2017 and 2018 is the amount of information that needs to be reported to achieve a high score. Gone is the test option that allowed clinicians to simply report on 90 days worth of patient visit information for the Quality performance category—now clinicians need to report on 60% of eligible patient visits per measure for all payers. This is typically a phrase I repeat a few times when discussing MIPS with practices who reported minimally for 2017.

As we make our way through year two of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), it’s clearer than ever that simply reporting quality data is no longer enough. CMS penalties and incentives reach 5% in 2018, and in future years payment adjustments will continue to increase along with the percentage of patients you will be required to report on. Meeting quality standards and cutting costs are also increasingly important as measures are assessed against benchmarks and peers. Choosing the best reporting method for your practice is therefore an increasingly important step toward reporting efficiency and ultimately reporting success.

We get a lot of questions from multi-specialty practices about how to get started with MIPS reporting. Measure selection can be confusing, and there are many common misconceptions, such as the assumption that different specialties cannot report together. Reporting MIPS can even seem entirely hopeless, due to the size, services, and systems used by your practice. That’s why this week we’re sharing our advice about the most significant steps your multi-specialty practice can take to set itself up for MIPS success!

Over the past year, we tracked over 11 million patients with over 2 BILLION quality actions in MIPS reporting alone! We are already back to work and developing some really cool new analytic solutions to help our clients optimize their Quality outcomes.

Hospital executives have to make tough decisions during the shift to value based care, especially when it comes to software. What systems are worth investing in, and how can you ensure your hospital is getting the most out of its money? In MIPS reporting, for example, it can feel like an impossible task to weigh the pros and cons of reporting via EHR or working with a registry.