Physicians have until December 1 to dispute 2016 PQRS and QRUR findings The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data that indicates which physicians will be subject to the 2018 payment penalties associated with the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and Value-Based Payment Modifier (Value Modifier) programs. Physicians who have concerns about the findings in their report(s) have until December 1, 2017, to file for an informal review of their data. The penalties stem from policies in effect prior to the enactment of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Failure to successfully report on PQRS in 2016 ... October 13, 2017 Medicare Medicare, Physician Quality Reporting System, PQRS, Quality Reporting, Value-Based Payment Modifier 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS awards $100 million to help small practices succeed The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded $20 million to 11 organizations for the first year of a five-year project to provide on-the-ground training and education about the Quality Payment Program, established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), for clinicians in individual or small group practices. CMS intends to invest up to an additional $80 million over the remaining four years. Among the awardees are three California organizations: IPRO in San Francisco, Health Services Advisory Group in Glendale and Burlingame, and Qualis ... March 3, 2017 General, Medicare Medicare, CMS, MACRA, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians have until November 30 to dispute 2015 PQRS and QRUR findings The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data that indicates which physicians will be subject to the 2017 payment penalties associated with the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and Value-Based Payment Modifier (VM) programs. Physicians who have concerns about the findings in their report(s) have until November 30 to file for an informal review of their data. The penalties in question stem from policies in effect prior to the enactment of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Failure to successfully complete required PQRS reporting ... November 14, 2016 Managed Care, Medi-Cal, Medicare Quality Reporting, Medicare, Physician Quality Reporting System, PQRS 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS publishes MACRA measure selection tool for physicians The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a tool that will let physicians review and select the MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) quality measures that best fit their practice. Under MACRA, CMS will begin measuring performance for eligible clinicians in 2017 through the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), with payment adjustments based on those results beginning in 2019. The MIPS payment adjustments will be based on performance in four categories: quality, resource use, clinical practice improvement activities and electronic health record (EHR) use. ... November 7, 2016 Medicare MACRA, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
Webinar to provide overview of CHPI Physician Quality Rating Program With the California Healthcare Performance Information System (CHPI) publishing clinical quality ratings for approximately 13,000 California physicians later this year, physicians will soon begin receiving notices advising of their quality scores, along with information on how to access the review and corrections portal to confirm or correct their data. Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) senior managers Emily London and Pete Sikora will present a webinar overview of the CHPI quality rating project, along with step-by-step instructions on how physicians can review their data for accuracy before the quality ... September 13, 2016 General CHPI, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
Call for nominations: CMA Quality and Cost Technical Advisory Committee The California Medical Association (CMA) is currently seeking physician members to serve on the newly formed Quality and Cost Technical Advisory Committee (QTAC). CMA's committees and councils provide key input to the Board of Trustees to guide the association as it sets new policies. The deadline to submit an application or nomination for the QTAC is Friday, April 29, 2016. The purpose of this committee is to provide input in the development of a cohesive and consistent approach to quality and cost rating programs and value-based payment initiatives. Committee members will ... April 18, 2016 General CMA Nominations, Quality Reporting, CMA Committees 0 0 Comment Read More »
United Healthcare to delay Premium Designation assessment until January 2017 United Healthcare (UHC) has announced it will delay the next version of its Premium Designation physician quality and cost assessment program until January 2017. The program uses clinical information from health care claims to evaluate physicians against various quality and cost-efficiency benchmarks. Originally scheduled to publish its latest results in January 2016, UHC has stated it is delaying in order to allow for improvements to the quality measures and cost-efficiency metrics in response to feedback provided by physicians. This means that the currently posted ratings will remain in place through ... December 7, 2015 Managed Care Quality reporting, United Healthcare, Quality of Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS announces 30-day period of Physician Compare On October 5, 2015 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened the 30-day preview period on October 5, 2015 for the 2014 quality measures that will be reported on the Physician Compare website later this year. The Affordable Care Act required CMS to create a website that would allow consumers to search for and compare physicians and other health care professionals who provide Medicare services. That site—the "Physician Compare" website, initially launched in 2010—provides contact information, specialties and clinical training, hospital affiliations and group practice information. In 2014, the ... October 31, 2015 Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System, PQRS, Quality Reporting, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS to hold webinars for providers on Physician Compare website The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a series of one-hour webinars about public quality reporting and the Physician Compare website. The Affordable Care Act required CMS to create a website that would allow consumers to search for and compare physicians and other health care professionals who provide Medicare services. That site—the "Physician Compare" website, initially launched in 2010—provides contact information, specialties and clinical training, hospital affiliations and group practice information. In 2014, the website also began phasing in physician quality data from the Physician Quality Reporting System ... August 17, 2015 Managed Care, Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, Quality Reporting, Webinars, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
Deadline to verify CHPI quality data accuracy is July 31 In late May, approximately 18,000 physicians in California received a notice and their individual quality measurement scores for a new quality rating program through the California Healthcare Performance Initiative System (CHPI). The program rates physicians using claims data from Medicare fee-for-service, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and United Healthcare. Physicians will be assigned a star rating of one to four stars for each measure, based on where they fall as a percentile within a “peer group," plus a composite score. The individual quality measurement scores were based on ... July 24, 2015 General Quality of Care, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
