CMS to give clinicians more options to comply with MACRA quality program in 2017

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will give physicians and other clinicians more options in the first year to comply with the new quality payment program being instituted under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt said today in a blog post. The quality program will begin in 2019, but clinicians must submit data for 2017 to avoid penalties. In 2017, clinicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System will be able to choose from among three options to satisfy MIPS requirements. The first option allows clinicians to avoid a negative payment adjustment by submitting some data. Clinicians may also opt to report under the MIPS for less than a full year, and potentially receive a small positive payment adjustment. Finally, clinicians may report a full year of data on all MIPS categories and potentially receive a higher positive payment adjustment. CMS will provide more detail on these options in the MACRA final rule, which it will release by Nov. 1, 2016. “We are pleased that CMS has responded to feedback asking for greater flexibility in meeting MACRA’s aggressive timeline and reporting requirements,” said Ashley Thompson, AHA senior vice president for public policy analysis and development. “We look forward to reviewing the details of these options when CMS releases a final rule.”