Cardiologists join fight for better MIPS transparency
The American College of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) have all signed on to a stakeholder letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asking improved transparency in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
The letter, signed by dozens of U.S. healthcare organizations, opened with a request that CMS release MIPS cost measure data from 2018, 2019 and 2020. The groups also said that all cost measure benchmarks for 2021 and beyond should be made available on a “rolling, close to real-time basis.”
“We are very concerned that CMS has never published MIPS cost measure benchmarks, despite using these metrics to evaluate physician and group performance in the MIPS Cost Performance category,” the groups wrote. “Because the benchmarks have not been published, physicians cannot compare their spending to the target in the current performance period or prior periods, nor can they determine whether the benchmarks are fair and valid, accounting for variations in resource use that are within a physician’s control. Moreover, physicians cannot identify opportunities to reduce spending or best practices for providing efficient care.”
The letter also emphasized that healthcare providers need detailed information about MIPS cost measures identify opportunities for improved cost savings and ways to improve their performance in the future.
Another key point of the letter was to push CMS to provide information related to quality benchmarks in a timely manner.
“Since CMS releases updated benchmarks with significant changes to individual measure in the middle of the performance period, physicians and group practices may need to readjust or revise their reporting strategy well after the start of the performance period,” the groups wrote. “This inconsistency leads to confusion and inability to focus on improvement. CMS should release the quality measure benchmarks at least 30 days prior to the start of the performance period and hold harmless physicians by moving to pay-for-reporting when significant updates to benchmarks are made during the performance period.”
Read the full letter here.
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.