Reminder: Submit Comments on the 2020 Proposed Rule for the Quality Payment Program by September 27

Provide Feedback on Proposed Changes to the Quality Payment Program by September 27

On July 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed policies for the 2020 performance year of the Quality Payment Program via the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

Submit a Formal Comment by Friday, September 27, 2019

CMS is seeking comment on a variety of proposals in the NPRM, including the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Value Pathways (MVPs). Electronic comments are due no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on September 27, 2019 and mailed comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET, September 27, 2019.

You must officially submit your comments in one of the following ways:

Electronically, through Regulations.gov
Regular mail
Express or overnight mail
By hand or courier

More Information on the Quality Payment Program Policies Proposed in the 2020 PFS NPRM

Key proposals for 2020 performance year of the Quality Payment Program include:

Increasing the performance threshold from 30 points to 45 points
Revising category weights for Quality (decreases from 45% to 40%) and Cost (increases from 15% to 20%)
Increasing the data completeness threshold for the quality data that clinicians submit
Increasing the threshold for clinicians who complete or participate in the Improvement Activity for group reporting
Updating requirements for Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) measures and the services that third-party intermediaries must provide (beginning with the 2021 performance period)
Revising the specifications for the Total Per Capita Cost (TPCC) and Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary Clinician (MSPB Clinician) measures

For More Information

To learn more about the PFS NPRM and the Quality Payment Program proposals, review the following resources:

Fact Sheet – Offers an overview of the QPP proposed policies for 2020 (Year 4) and compares these policies to the current 2019 (Year 3) requirements.
MIPS Value Pathways Webpage – Provides an overview of the proposed MVPs framework, how to comment, and where to find more information.
MIPS Value Pathways Diagrams – This zip file contains three visual diagrams of the proposed MVPs framework, including an MVP example for Diabetes Prevention and Treatment and an example for Major Surgery.
MIPS Value Pathways Overview and RFI Fact Sheet – Provides an overview of the proposed MVPs framework and lists the Request for Information (RFI) questions on MVPs.

To learn more about the Quality Payment Program, visit: https://qpp.cms.gov.

Now Available: Resources for Clinicians New to the Quality Payment Program in 2019

Starting in 2019, new clinician types became eligible to participate in the Quality Payment Program (QPP)—including clinical psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, qualified speech-language pathologists, qualified audiologists, and registered dieticians and nutrition professionals.

If you’re one of these clinicians who is newly eligible for QPP, CMS has posted the following resources to the QPP Resource Library to help you understand how to successfully participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2019.

2019 MIPS Participation and Eligibility Fact Sheet – Provides an overview of the eligibility criteria for participating in MIPS in 2019.
Participating in QPP in 2019 Infographic – Describes how to check your QPP participation status; basic requirements for participating in MIPS, Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs), and MIPS APMs; and key dates for 2019 participation.
2019 MIPS Eligibility Decision Tree – Uses a series of questions to help you determine if you’re eligible for MIPS in 2019 based on factors such as clinician type, when you enrolled in Medicare, and the low-volume threshold.
2019 MIPS Quick Start Guide – Offers a high-level overview of QPP and MIPS in 2019, detailing eligibility requirements, low-volume threshold criteria, MIPS exclusions, and a timeline of the 2019 performance period.
2019 MIPS Specialty Measures Guides – Provides a sample of 2019 performance year measures and activities relevant to specialists, including new MIPS eligible clinician types: clinical psychologists, occupational and physical therapists, speech-language pathologists and audiologists, and dieticians and nutrition professionals.