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CMS To Revamp Medicare Compare Websites

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Medicare, Practitioners
January 30, 2020

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working on new improvements to Medicare.gov to help patients find health care providers in different settings across the care continuum. Later this year, CMS plans to launch a simplified and consistent online experience to make it easier for consumers to find and compare care, while also meeting the needs of industry stakeholders who search data that are important to them. These improvements build on past efforts under the eMedicare initiative, which aims to deliver customized information that beneficiaries want and need.

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ONC Annual Meeting Focuses on Patient Access to Health Records

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Practice Management, Health Information Technology (HIT), Practitioners
January 30, 2020

Hundreds of policy makers, thought leaders, vendors, and other stakeholders interested in the future direction of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT gathered last week in Washington, DC, for the ONC Annual Meeting. The meeting, attended by Society staff, featured keynote speeches by Department Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar; ONC National Coordinator Don Rucker, MD; and other leaders in the health IT space.

It was clear from the theme of the conference, Connecting Policy and Technology: Bringing the EHR to the Patient, that...

The Society Joins Others in Addressing President’s Executive Order on Medicare

Policy Snapshot
Medicare, Practitioners
January 23, 2020

Recently, the Society joined other post-acute and long-term care workforce groups in addressing a recent executive order entitled Protecting and Improving Medicare for our Nation’s Seniors. The groups commended the efforts in section 5 of the executive order to ensure that access to high-quality care in not hampered by outdated barriers to practice; that section of the order calls for the removal of burdensome requirements that prevent clinicians from practicing to the top of their profession. “We request that you act to ensure this barrier to practice is removed by promulgating...

Quality Payment Program: 2019 Data Submission Videos from CMS

Policy Snapshot
January 23, 2020

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)  posted new Quality Payment Program (QPP) FAQs and videos to help you submit your 2019 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) data. The submission period closes on March 31 at 8 PM ET.

Data Submission Demonstration Videos:

CMS Quality Conference in Baltimore

Policy Snapshot
January 23, 2020

Each year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)  brings together over 3,000 leaders across the health care spectrum to explore how patients, advocates, providers, researchers, and champions in health care quality improvement can develop and spread solutions to address to America’s most pervasive health system challenges.

The conference will take place in Baltimore, February 25-27. Register here....

Quality Payment Program: New MIPS Participation Framework for 2021 Performance Period

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Merit-Based Incentive Program Payment System (MIPS), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practice Management, Practitioners
January 16, 2020

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is implementing a new participation framework for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) starting with the 2021 performance period, MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs). The goal of this new framework is to move away from siloed performance category measures and activities and toward an aligned set of measures and activities that are more meaningful to clinicians and patient care.

CMS will not immediately eliminate the current MIPS framework. Instead, it intends to develop MVPs for 2021 and beyond in collaboration with...

Quality Payment Program: MIPS for 2020 Performance Period Webinar from CMS on January 22

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Merit-Based Incentive Program Payment System (MIPS), Quality Payment Program (QPP), Practice Management, Practitioners
January 16, 2020

Wednesday, January 22 from 2:30 to 4 pm ET

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding a webinar on Wednesday, January 22, from 2:30 PM to 4 PM ET. The session will provide a basic overview of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for the 2020 performance period. Topics will include:

  • Eligbility
  • Reporting options
  • Basic requirements for the MIPS performance categories
  • Help and support

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New Head of the Innovation Center Appointed

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Practice Management, Practitioners
January 9, 2020

On January 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Brad Smith will serve as the director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) and senior advisor for value-based transformation to HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Smith previously worked at Anthem as the chief operating officer of the Diversified Business Group and co-founded Aspire Health, a health care group providing palliative care. As the new director of the Innovation Center, Smith will play a leadership...

CMS Schedules Direct Contracting Model Options Webinars and Office Hours

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Practice Management, Practitioners
January 9, 2020

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host several webinars and office hours for interested participants to ask questions and get additional information about the Direct Contracting Model Options:

 

Direct Contracting Payment Part I: Risk Sharing/Risk Mitigation/Cash Flow Webinar

Wednesday, January 15, 2020, 1:00-3:00 PM ET

Registration is open ...

CMS Misses December 31, 2019, Deadline for APM Incentive Payments

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Alternative Payment Models (APM), Practice Management, Practitioners
January 9, 2020

CMS Misses December 31, 2019, Deadline for APM Incentive Payments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an advisory notice on December 26, 2019, indicating the agency would fail to meet the self-imposed deadline of December 31, 2019, to distribute all CY 2019 Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM) incentive payments.

Qualifying APM Participants (QPs) were eligible for bonus payments in 2019 based on their 2017 participation in an advanced APM. CMS began distributing incentive payments on September 26, 2019, and aimed to complete...