By Jim Tate, EMR Advocate
MACRA/MIPS Subject Matter Expert
Twitter: @JimTate, eMail: jimtate@emradvocate.com
There is less than two weeks left on the clock. October 2nd is coming fast and brings the beginning of the last 90-day MIPS performance period for 2017. If plans have not already been made then this week is the last opportunity you will have to decide what to do if you are an Eligible Clinician (EC) impacted by MIPS. If there is any doubt about your participation status go here and enter your NPI number. That will let you know immediately if you need to do something in 2017 to protect your 2019 Medicare Part B reimbursement and professional reputation.
I have beaten the drum for over a year about the importance of the MIPS Composite score. Prior posts are available here. There are four participation options for 2017 and two of them should be disregarded immediately. Option 1, doing nothing, will give you an automatic 4% Medicare Part B penalty in 2019 and a public MIPS score of 0. Option 2 will avoid penalties in 2019 but leaves you with a MIPS score of 3. Option 4 requires submission of an entire year of data to Medicare. Probably not too many can pull that one off. That only leaves Option 3 as the only acceptable path for MIPS in 2017 for most ECs.
Option 3: CMS calls this “Partial Participation” and lays out the requirements: “If you submit 90 days of 2017 data to Medicare, you may earn a neutral or positive payment adjustment and may even earn the max adjustment.” In addition, with the right strategy (individual vs. group reporting, submission method, choice of “MIPS friendly” vs. clinical quality measures, etc.) a high MIPS score can bring all the advantages referenced here.
As we approach the beginning of the last 90-day reporting period decisions and strategies will need to be in place to assure a high MIPS score. There will not be an opportunity to back pedal or second guess. Don’t let indecision or lack of knowledge of the MACRA/MIPS program adversely affect your Medicare Part B reimbursement, practice value, and professional reputation.
This article was originally published on MIPS Consulting Blog and is republished here with permission.