Will the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System be Eliminated?

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on March 15 released its March 2018 Report to Congress. The commission formalized its recommendation that Congress eliminate the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and establish a new voluntary value program (VVP) in FFS Medicare where clinicians can elect to be measured as part of a voluntary group and qualify for a value payment based on that group’s performance on a set of population-based quality measures. This recommendation is based on their analysis that MIPS is overly burdensome on clinicians and will not succeed in helping Medicare beneficiaries choose clinicians, clinicians change practice patterns to improve value provided, or the Medicare program rewarding clinicians based on value.
Anders Gilberg, SVP MGMA Government Affairs commented “MedPAC’s March Report is an indictment of MIPS as implemented. However, its conceptual “VVP” alternative lacks enough details to fully review.”
Key points of the recommendations made to Congress are as follows:
  • Eliminate the current Merit-based Incentive Payment System; and
  • Establish a new voluntary value program in fee-for-service Medicare in which:
  • clinicians can elect to be measured as part of a voluntary group; and
  • clinicians in voluntary groups can qualify for a value payment based on their group’s performance on a set of population-based measures.
As always, ADVOCATE will keep you up to date on this and all issues impacting radiology as they become available.
Regards,
Lauren Sloan, MHA, RD, LD
Director of Regulatory Affairs