CMS is Soliciting Stakeholder Recommendations for Potential Consideration of New Specialty Measure Sets for the Quality Performance Category and/or Revisions to the Existing Specialty Measure Sets for the Quality Performance Category for the 2020 Program Year of Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is accepting recommendations from stakeholders for potential consideration of new specialty measure sets for the quality performance category and/or revisions to existing specialty measure sets for the quality performance category for program year 2020 of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program. CMS is specifically requesting recommendations on existing specialty measure sets for the quality performance category. This request is separate from the annual Call for Quality Measures. Recommendations for new specialty sets or revisions to the 2019 specialty sets for the quality performance category should be made based on the established 2019 quality measures. The CY 2019 quality measure specifications can be found here: https://qpp.cms.gov/about/resource-library

In addition, recommendations will be accepted based on potential new MIPS quality measures that are being considered for implementation in the 2020 program year. These measures can be found on the NQF website under the MAP Quick Links. Here is the link to the 2018 Measures Under Consideration List where the quality measures under consideration for MIPS can be found.

The current 2019 specialty measure sets for the quality performance category are located in the posted 2019 Quality Measures List in the folder titled CQM (Clinical Quality Measures) Specifications Supporting Documents of the following ZIP file (titled 2019 Clinical Quality Measure Specifications and Supporting Documents): https://qpp-cm-prod-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/339/2019+Clinical+Quality+Measure+Specifications+and+Supporting+Documents%C2%A0.zip

As established in the CY 2019 Quality Payment Program final rule, specialty measure sets for the quality performance category currently exist for the following specialties:

Allergy/Immunology
Anesthesiology
Cardiology
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diagnostic Radiology
Electrophysiology Cardiac Specialist (a subspecialty of Cardiology)
Emergency Medicine
Family Medicine
Gastroenterology
General Surgery
Geriatrics
Hospitalists
Infectious Disease
Internal Medicine
Interventional Radiology
Mental/Behavioral Health
Nephrology
Neurology
Neurosurgical
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedic Surgery
Otolaryngology
Pathology
Pediatrics
Physical Medicine
Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy
Plastic Surgery
Podiatry
Preventive Medicine
Radiation Oncology
Rheumatology
Skilled Nursing Facility
Thoracic Surgery
Urgent Care
Urology
Vascular Surgery

Each recommendation must include the following in order to be considered:

The quality measure ID
Measure title
Supporting rationale and/or documentation that would support inclusion or exclusion of the current quality measure(s) from existing specialty measure sets or inclusion in new specialty measure sets.

Submissions of recommendations for a new specialty measure set and/or revisions to the current 2019 specialty measure sets for the performance category should be sent to the PIMMS Quality Measures Support mailbox at PIMMSQualityMeasuresSupport@gdit.com. CMS specifically requests stakeholder feedback on applicable quality measures for the following specialties: Endocrinology, Pulmonology, Clinical Social Work, and Chiropractic services.

Submissions of recommendations will be accepted from stakeholders up until Close of Business on Monday, February 11th, 2019.

All recommendations submitted by the aforementioned deadline will be considered and assessed for possible inclusion in rule making for the 2020 calendar year of the Quality Payment Program.

Note: Submissions of recommendations for new specialty measure sets and/or revisions to the current 2019 specialty measure sets for the quality performance category, does not guarantee that the recommendation will be accepted, proposed, or finalized during rule making for the 2020 calendar year of the Quality Payment Program. Determinations as to whether recommendations are accepted will not be communicated with stakeholders directly since they are being considered for the 2020 program year, but will be made evident through publications of the CY 2020 Quality Payment Program proposed and final rule.

Register for CMS’ Upcoming 101 Webinar on MIPS in 2019

CMS is hosting a 101-level webinar on Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 1:00 PM ET, which will provide a basic overview of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for the 2019 Performance Year of the Quality Payment Program. While this webinar is open to all interested participants, CMS encourages new clinician types, practice support staff, health care organizations, and other stakeholders that may be participating for the first time in 2019 to attend to learn the basics of the program and ask questions.

During the webinar, CMS subject matter experts will provide information on various topic areas that will help clinicians, care teams, and practice support staff to get started in MIPS. These topics include:

Background of the Quality Payment Program
Eligibility
Reporting options
Basic requirements for the MIPS performance categories
Payment
Available support

Webinar Details

Title: Overview of MIPS for Year 3 (2019) of the Quality Payment Program

Date: Thursday, January 24, 2019

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET

Registration Link: https://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=3536&seid=1342

The audio portion of this webinar will be broadcast through the web. You can listen to the presentation through your computer speakers. CMS will open the phone line for the Q&A portion. If you cannot hear audio through your computer speakers, please contact CMSQualityTeam@ketchum.com.