Reminder: Virtual Groups Election Period for MIPS 2020 Performance Period Ends December 31st

If you’re interested in forming a virtual group for the 2020 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance year, you must follow the election process and submit your election to CMS via e-mail by Tuesday, December 31, 2019.  Details about virtual groups and the election process are available in this toolkit.

What is a Virtual Group?

A virtual group is a combination of two or more Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) assigned to:

• One or more solo practitioners (who are MIPS eligible clinicians); or
• One or more groups consisting of 10 or fewer clinicians (including at least 1 MIPS eligible clinician); or
• Both (solo practitioners and groups of 10 or fewer clinicians) that elect to form a virtual group for a performance period for a year

What is the Election Process?

There is a two-stage election process for forming a virtual group:

Stage 1 (optional)

• Contact your Quality Payment Program Technical Assistance organization for information regarding TIN size to help you determine if you meet the TIN size criteria to join or form a virtual group.

Stage 2 (required)

As part of Stage 2 of the election process, you must:

• Have a formal written agreement.
• Name an official virtual group representative.
• Submit the virtual group’s election via e-mail to CMS at MIPS_VirtualGroups@cms.hhs.gov by Tuesday, December 31, 2019.
• Determine group size and low-volume threshold.

Download the 2020 Virtual Groups Toolkit to learn more about the election process and how to participate in MIPS as a virtual group in 2020.

Need Help?

• Contact the Quality Payment Program by:
  • Email: QPP@cms.hhs.gov or
  • Phone: 1-866-288-8292/ TTY: 1-877-715-6222; to receive assistance more quickly, consider calling during non-peak hours – from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, and 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).
• Clinicians in small practices (including those in rural locations), health professional shortage areas, and medically underserved areas may request technical assistance from on-the-ground organizations that can provide no-cost support. To learn more about this support, or to connect with your local technical assistance organization, we encourage you to visit our Small, Underserved, and Rural Practices page on the Quality Payment Program website.
• Visit Help and Support for additional information and resources.