News: CMS releases 2018 Quality Payment Program performance results

Last week, CMS released the final 2018 performance data for the Quality Payment Program (QPP). These final QPP performance results show significant success and participation in both the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM).

“We heard from you that this program was a big change for many clinicians and we worked with you to improve the program,” wrote CMS in a newsletter on the performance results. “Therefore, we are pleased to announce that clinician participation rates and success in QPP increased from 2017 to 2018.”

The final 2018 performance feedback data revealed:

• 98% of eligible clinicians participating in MIPS will receive a positive payment adjustment in 2020. This is a five-point increase from the 2017 performance year.
• 97% of clinicians in rural practices will receive a positive payment adjustment, compared to 93% in 2017. This shows strides are being made towards making MIPS a practical program for every clinician, regardless of size.
• 889,995 clinicians received a MIPS payment adjustment (whether positive, neutral, or negative). Of these clinicians, 872,148 will receive a neutral payment adjustment or better through their individual, group, or APM participation. This means 98% of eligible clinicians earned a neutral or positive payment adjustment.
• 183,306 clinicians earned qualifying APM participant status, while another 47 clinicians received partial qualifying participant status. This reflects an increase in clinicians who provide high quality and cost-efficient care while moving towards value-based payments.

“We continue with our commitment to build a program that is fully transparent and provides accurate information,” said CMS. CMS noted they are will continue to provide the MIPS performance data points that will be most useful based on feedback. Additionally, they plan to provide a comprehensive 2018 MIPS Experience Report in the coming months that documents national trends for MIPS eligibility, participation, and reporting.

Editor’s note: A detailed explanation of the 2018 QPP performance results can be found here. Find additional ACDIS articles highlighting MIPS here or here.