Medical Billing Blog

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent Congressional agency established to advise Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program, released their latest report to Congress in early
March.

Under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians (EC) are to report quality and cost data to CMS starting this year (2017). This data will be used to determine Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP) adjustments (positive or negative) in 2019. Because 2017 has been designated as a “transition” year, the amount of reporting required of ECs is minimal.

President Trump promised repeatedly during the campaign to crack down on government waste, fraud and abuse, and the $590 billion a year Medicare program is a good place to start.

Medicare’s nascent value-based measurement system may not be a good indicator of which doctors provide high-quality medical care.

Physicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System have yet to receive eligibility notifications that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should have sent in December, according to the Medical Group Management Association.

A large crowd filled a ballroom at the HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition on Monday to hear from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on how to handle payment reform under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act and the law's mandate to rid Medicare cards of Social Security numbers.