CMS published 2018 results for the Merit-Based Incentive Payments System program Jan. 6.
Five things to know about the results:
1. CMS Administrator Seema Verma said 2018 participation in MIPS, created under the 2015 Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, exceeded participation rates in 2017.
2. More clinicians will receive a positive payment adjustment compared to the 2017 performance year, with nearly all eligible clinicians participating in MIPS getting a payment boost in 2020.
3. In total, 889,995 clinicians saw a MIPS payment adjustment, whether negative, neutral or positive. Ninety-eight percent of those clinicians will receive a neutral or positive payment adjustment.
4. Additionally, more rural and small practices will see positive payment adjustments compared to the 2017 performance year.
5. More clinicians are earning Qualifying Alternative Payment Model Participant status under the Advanced APM path than in the previous reporting year.
"Positive payment adjustment will remain modest in part because, under the MACRA law, the positive and negative payment adjustments must be budget neutral," Ms. Verma said. "This means that the funds available for positive payment adjustments are limited to the estimated decrease in payments resulting from the negative payment adjustments. But because the thresholds have been lower, many providers have qualified. As the program matures, we expect that the increases in the performance thresholds in future program years will create a smaller distribution of positive payment adjustments for high performing clinicians who continue to invest in improving quality and outcomes for beneficiaries and positive adjustments will increase."
To view the full results, click here.
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