HHS is providing $20 million for Medicare small group providers to receive sufficient training and education to succeed in CMS' Quality Payment program, according to Healthcare Finance News.
CMS' Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 replaced the current Meaningful Use, Physician Quality Reporting System and Value-Based Payment Modifier this year. Under MACRA, physicians can participate in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System or the Alternative Payment Models.
MIPS consists of a weighted score of quality, resource use, meaningful use and practice improvement scores. Physicians have the opportunity to receive financial bonuses if they obtain good quality outcomes. However, many may face penalties if they fail to meet CMS' requirements.
Here are five key points:
1. HHS' $20 million funds will offer providers hand-on training, catered to help small practices succeed. Medicare clinicians in individual or small group practices of 15 clinicians or less can participate in the training programs.
2. Over the next five years, HHS will award $20 million each year as MACRA requires to help small practices succeed in the quality reporting system. Small practices must show they can provide customized training to clinicians to be eligible for funding.
3. Small practices proving their eligibility can offer education and consultation at zero cost to the clinician or their practice. Practices would train providers on various clinical practice improvement activities and integrate those activities into their practice's workflow.
4. CMS initially estimated most clinicians in groups of 24 or less will endure a penalty in 2019. Initial estimates anticipated CMS' Merit-Based Incentive Payment System would provide bonuses or penalties to nearly 102,788 solo practitioners. Of that figure, nearly 87 percent would face MIPS penalties in 2019.
5. At a May hearing, Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt said small practices can succeed just as much as larger practices under MACRA. Mr. Slavitt claimed the initial figure is not indicative of the reality and CMS will help small practices so they can succeed in obtaining bonuses, thus spurring the $100 million funding over the next five years.
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