Healthcare

As we move into the third performance year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), CMS is starting to take the training wheels off the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The threshold to avoid a penalty in 2019 doubled to 30 points, and the exceptional performance threshold increased to 75 points (up from 70 points in 2018).

If you were an eligible clinician (EC) that submitted 2017 performance data for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) through the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website, you can review your final performance feedback, including your final score and payment adjustment information.

After scaling back its two mandatory bundled payment programs last year, CMS recently signaled that the value-based payment train remains on track for the current administration.

Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI-A) opened to applicants on January 11. With the application deadline of March 12, 2018, just around the corner, the pressure is on to decide whether your hospital or physician group practice is going to participate.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued on November 2^nd its final rule with comment period for the MACRA Quality Payment Program (QPP) Year 2. With a continued focus on providing flexibility and reducing administrative burdens, CMS listened to stakeholders’ concerns and challenges by promising to:

MIPS is, and always was, a short-term strategy. The MACRA architects designed the Merit-based Incentive Payment System as a stepping stone to participation in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (AAPMs), which they envisioned as the better avenue to improve population health and bring down costs.

In earlier blogs on MACRA, we’ve discussed a series of topics, including the flexibility in the first reporting year 2017 and the “Pick Your Pace” option in MIPS.

By banding together into what CMS has termed “virtual groups,” solo practitioners and small medical groups can take advantage of significant flexibility currently available to help them succeed in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

In Part 1 of this series, we answered some FAQs about these MIPS virtual groups. In Part 2, we share items to consider before joining a virtual group.

Small physician groups and solo practitioners take heart: CMS wants you to be successful in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) without having to merge or be acquired.

Although physicians around the country cheered the permanent repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), the resulting reimbursement and payment model changes could significantly impact the fair market value of physician practices. The passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) changed the valuation environment significantly. The HORNE Healthcare team has been researching the changes, and here is what you need to know:

Home healthcare enables many patients to receive appropriate medical attention from the comfort of home. Patients utilizing these services also enjoy considerable cost savings in comparison to a hospital setting, proven research of better health, and reduced stress for the patient and family. Home health agencies (HHAs) treat patients who may only require a short-term need for care, as well as patients who may need long-term treatment for illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and pulmonary disease.