Monday Morning Rounds with CMS

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Posted By: HHS/ONC/CMS Communications August 26, 2024

ICYMI, here is recent communication from CMS.

Upcoming MIPS Important Dates and Deadlines

CMS would like to remind clinicians of important upcoming Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) dates and deadlines:

October 2024

  • MIPS eligibility for the 2024 performance year will be updated based on the June 30 Alternative Payment Model (APM) snapshot (snapshot 2).
    • Note: Qualifying APM Participant (QP) determinations and MIPS APM participation information will be available on the QPP Participation Status Tool.
  • The 2025 virtual group election period opens, allowing solo practitioners and groups with 10 or fewer clinicians to submit an election to participate in MIPS as a virtual group for the 2025 performance period.
    • Note: 2025 virtual group election period details will be available on the QPP website later this year.
  • The final day to request a MIPS targeted review for your 2023 MIPS final score will be 60 days after the release of 2025 MIPS payment adjustment factor(s).
  • The exact date will be identified when we announce final performance feedback is available.
  • You’d only request a targeted review if you believe there’s an error in your MIPS performance feedback.

October 3, 2024

  • Last day to begin implementing an activity for a continuous 90-day performance period for the improvement activities performance category in the 2024 performance period.
    • Note: Most, but not all, improvement activities have a continuous 90-day performance period, but several improvement activities require completion of modules where there’s a year-long or alternate performance period. The performance period is 90 days unless otherwise stated in the activity description.

November 2024

December 2, 2024

  • Last day to register to report a MIPS Value Pathway (MVP) for the 2024 performance year.
  • Learn more about MVP registration.

December 2024

December 31, 2024

January 2, 2025

  • Data submission period opens for the 2024 performance year.

News

Updated 2024 APM Incentive Payment Details Available; Learn if Action Needed by 9/1
CMS recently published updated 2024 Alternative Payment Model (APM) Incentive Payment details on the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Resource Library. Eligible clinicians who were Qualifying APM Participants (QPs) based on their 2022 performance should have started receiving their 2024 APM incentive payments earlier this summer. For more information, including an updated list of unpaid QPs to whom CMS has been unable to disburse payments, please review the Public Notice file in the 2024 QP Notice for APM Incentive Payment (ZIP, 599KB).

Reminder: CMS Releases Hospital-Specific Results for CMS Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) Measures and the Severe Obstetric Complications Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) that will be Publicly Reported in October 2024
This is a reminder that CMS released hospital-specific results via the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system for the CMS Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) measures and the Severe Obstetric Complications (ePC-07) Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) that will be publicly reported in October 2024.

CMS Issues Fiscal Year 2025 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System for Acute Care Hospitals and Long-term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System Final Rule
On August 1, 2024, CMS issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Final Rule.

The Preview Period for the CMS PSI measures and the ePC-07 measure began July 31, 2024 and will end August 29, 2024
CMS released hospital-specific results via the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system for the CMS Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) measures and the Severe Obstetric Complications (ePC-07) Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) that will be publicly reported in October 2024.

CMS Announces Release of State NOFO for the CGT Access Model
CMS announced the release of the State Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model, which will initially focus on gene therapies for sickle cell disease.

MIPS News

Now Available: 2023 MIPS Performance Feedback, 2023 MIPS Final Score, and 2025 MIPS Payment Adjustment Information
CMS has released Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance feedback and final scores for the 2023 performance year and associated MIPS payment adjustment information for the 2025 payment year.

  • Your 2023 final score determines the payment adjustment you’ll receive in 2025; a positive, negative, or neutral payment adjustment will be applied to the Medicare paid amount for covered professional services furnished in 2025.
  • REMINDER: There’s no exceptional performance adjustment for the 2023 performance year/2025 payment year. Congressional funding for the additional adjustment for exceptional performance expired after the 2022 performance year/2024 payment year.

Learn About 2024 MIPS Participation by Viewing CMS Performance Category Webinar Recordings
CMS recently posted 4 prerecorded webinars to the QPP Webinar Library. These webinars provide participation overviews for the 4 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance categories:

Quality Payment Program

Administrative Simplification

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New Resource: Introduction to Administrative Simplification YouTube Video
CMS National Standards Group (NSG), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), would like to share its new Introduction to Administrative Simplification YouTube video. This video provides an overview of what Administrative Simplification is, why it was established, and how it can help the health care industry reduce burdens and lower costs when they conduct electronic health care transactions.

New HIPAA Administrative Simplification Fundamentals Fact Sheet
CMS National Standards Group (NSG), on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), would like to highlight its new HIPAA Administrative Simplification Fundamentals Fact Sheet (PDF), located on the HIPAA and Administrative Simplification webpage of the Administrative Simplification website. The new resource provides an overview of Administrative Simplification, its purpose, goals, and how the health care industry benefits from it.

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