How to Avoid a Negative Payment Adjustment Under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System

Begin your data collection now. It’s still not too late to participate in the first year of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)—one of the two tracks in the Quality Payment Program. The transition year of MIPS has been underway since January 1, 2017 and runs until December 31, 2017.

Although you would have needed to begin adding the applicable quality data codes to your claims by October 2, 2017 to allow you to report 90 consecutive days of data for the transition year, avoiding the negative payment adjustment and potentially making you eligible for a positive payment adjustment, you can begin data collection as late as December 31, 2017 and still avoid the negative payment adjustment. However, more data increases your likelihood of earning a positive payment adjustment.  

Transition Year (2017) Participation:

For 2017, you can participate in one of three ways:

• Submit data covering a full year, or
• Submit data covering at least a consecutive 90-day period, or
• Submit a minimum amount of data (<90 days)

When is Data Submission?

You will begin submitting your 2017 MIPS performance data on January 2 through March 31, 2018.  If you are eligible to participate but choose not to submit data, you’ll get a negative 4% payment adjustment which will go into effect on January 1, 2019.

Need Help Participating?

• Use the MIPS Look-Up Tool on the Quality Payment Program website to determine if you should participate in MIPS. 
• Review resources available in the Resource Library including A Quick Start Guide to Participating in MIPS. 
• Learn about the free Technical Assistance available to clinicians, especially those in small, underserved, and rural practices. 
• Contact the Quality Payment Program at QPP@cms.hhs.gov or 1-866-288-8292 (TTY: 1-877-715-6222).