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Join CMS for a Webinar to Learn More about the MIPS Promoting Interoperability Performance Category

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Merit-Based Incentive Program Payment System (MIPS), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practitioners
June 7, 2018

When: Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
Registration Link: https://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=3536&seid=1111...

Reminder: MIPS Preliminary Performance Feedback Data Is Available

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Accountable Care Organization (ACO), Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Merit-Based Incentive Program Payment System (MIPS), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practitioners
June 7, 2018

Visit the CMS QPP Website to View Your MIPS Preliminary Performance Feedback Data

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would like to remind you that if you submitted 2017 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) data through the...

SNF Provider Preview Report: Review Your Data by June 30

Health Policy
Skilled Nursing Care, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Practitioners
June 7, 2018

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports are now available; visit the Spotlights and Announcements webpage for a list of quality measures based on quarterly data. Review your performance data by June 30, prior to public display on Nursing Home Compare. Corrections to...

Society Submits Application for MACRA Grant Funding

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practitioners, Quality, Improvement
June 1, 2018

This week the Society took a significant step forwarding to addressing one its key strategic objectives by applying for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) MACRA quality measure funding opportunity. Earlier this year CMS issued the Funding Opportunity to provide technical and funding assistance in the form of cooperative agreements to entities to develop, improve, update, or expand...

Society Submits Comments on Direct Provider Contracting RFI

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Practitioners
June 1, 2018

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a request for information (RFI) asking for input on direct provider contracting (DPC) between payers and primary care or multi-specialty groups to inform potential testing of a DPC model within the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program (Medicare Parts A and B), Medicare Advantage program (Medicare Part C), and Medicaid.

The Society submitted a response to the request that noted “direct provider contracting model could be a viable payment model for PALTC clinicians and afford opportunities to incentivize...

Support Observation Status Legislation

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Observation Status
June 1, 2018

Congressmen Joe Courtney (D-CT), Glenn 'GT' Thompson (R-PA) and Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) have co-sponsored legislation to fix an arbitrary Medicare policy that excludes coverage of skilled nursing care. Under current Medicare policy, a beneficiary must have an “inpatient” hospital stay of at least three days for Medicare to cover skilled nursing care. Patients who receive hospital care on “observation status” do not qualify for this benefit, even if their hospital stay lasts longer than three days. These...

CMS Releases 2016 Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Coding, Reimbursement, & Documentation, Practitioners
June 1, 2018

The Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File (PUF) contains summarized information on Part B services and procedures furnished to Medicare beneficiaries by physicians and other healthcare professionals. The 2016 dataset includes:

  • Information on utilization, payment, and submitted charges organized by National Provider Identifier, Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System code, and
    • ...

Advocacy Action Alert: Bipartisan Geriatrics Workforce Legislation Introduced in Senate

Health Policy
Care Settings/Types, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Practitioners
May 25, 2018

This week, Senators Susan Collins (R—Maine) and co-sponsor Senator Bob Casey (D—Pennsylvania) introduced the bipartisan Geriatrics Workforce Improve Act (S.2888) in the U.S. Senate. This bill echoes similar bipartisan legislation proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives that would ensure communities across the U.S. have access to health professionals and other critical supports improving care for us all as we age. With bipartisan support, swift passage of the bill would take a significant step toward training and supporting a healthcare workforce empowered to improve the quality of...

CMS Releases Annual Quality Measure Development Plan

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practitioners, Quality
May 25, 2018

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their 2018 Annual Report: Quality Measure Development Plan (MDP). The 2018 MDP Annual Report describes CMS activities during the previous year to advance the development of clinician quality measures in accordance with MACRA. In 2017, as required by MACRA, CMS transitioned from three discrete clinician quality programs to the Quality Payment Program, consisting of MIPS and incentive payments for...

MIPS Promoting Interoperability Performance Category Webinar — June 12

Health Policy
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practitioners, Quality, Measures
May 25, 2018

Recently, CMS announced that they changed the name of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Advancing Care Information performance category to the Promoting Interoperability performance category:

  • This is not a new performance category.
  • 2018 requirements are the same as what was finalized for the Advancing Care Information performance category. Review the 
    • ...