Summary
This Issue Brief provides an overview of key Medicare physician payment reforms to be implemented via the upcoming Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) pursuant to the latest “doc fix,” the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) (P.L. 114-10).
Although MIPS – which entails a consolidation of three Medicare physician quality reporting initiatives – is not set to begin until January 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has already taken steps toward implementation of the program, as detailed below. CMS expects to issue proposed rulemaking on various components related to the MIPS, including the release of the initial MIPS quality measure list (CMS-5517-P), 2 as early as next spring. More detailed information relative to broader MIPS implementation is expected to be promulgated in the Calendar Year (CY) 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule (see: CMS-1654-P3) due next summer.4 Furthermore, through MIPS, CMS hopes to lay the groundwork for a broader value-based and quality-focused effort encompassing Alternative Payment Models (APMs), a topic of a forthcoming TRP Health Policy Issue Brief.