Jan 15, 2019
This time of year in the Quality Payment Program is stressful. Practice representatives have to juggle attestation prep along with all the changes for the new program year that started January 1st. There are major overall changes to Year 3, including the expansion of eligible clinician types, and a third criteria for exclusion (200 covered physician fee services). Along with those changes, each performance category was updated, with Promoting Interoperability (PI) standing out as the most altered category.
While PI Performance Category is still weighted at 25% of your MIPS final score, the approach to receiving full credit has changed. In an effort to simplify the math for Year 3, CMS has moved to straight performance based scoring. The result of this is that an individual’s or group’s ability to earn a perfect score of 25 points has been dramatically limited. The number of raw points has gone from the previous 155 down to 110. This scoring change, along with the streamlining of Objectives and Measures, stands to have serious impact for this performance year.
Join us on February 7th when our panel of experts will discuss the changes to the PI category and what you can do now to limit the impact it will have on your MIPS final score for Year 3. During this webinar we will review the final objectives, measures and associated weights, along with the challenges of the new scoring approach. We’ll discuss how your practice can plan out the year now to mitigate any potential risk due to these changes and be successful in Year 3 of the QPP.
Webinar – QPP Year 3: Promoting Interoperability
Thursday February 7, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Jan 14, 2019
The QualityNet system opened on January 2, 2019 for Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals attesting to the Medicare Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program (formerly known as the Medicare EHR Incentive Program). This marks the beginning of the attestation period for program year 2018. The Promoting Interoperability reporting period is a minimum of any continuous 90 days between January 1 and December 31, 2018. For Modified Stage 2 in 2018, hospitals may attest to objectives and measures using 2014 Edition Certified EHR Technology (CERHT), 2015 Edition CEHRT, or a combination of both.
As a reminder, hospitals must use the QualityNet Secure Portal, also referred to as QNet, to report both PI and quality attestations. For specific instructions on how to enroll in and use QNet, see the Enrollment and Login User Guide, the Role Management User Guide, the Registration and Attestation User Guide, and the Objectives and CQMs User Guide. Participants must attest successfully to program requirements in order to avoid the Medicare payment adjustment. The attestation submission period ends on February 28, 2019. Hospitals are reminded to keep detailed documentation to support their attestation for up to six years after reporting is complete.
For more information on the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, please either email our team of expert advisors at the Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
Successfully navigating the complex and evolving Promoting Interoperability landscape can be a challenging task. We work closely with our clients to guide them through the multifaceted environment unique to health information technology. We are here to help! Contact the Kentucky REC today to learn more about the support we provide.
Jan 8, 2019
As expected, CMS expanded the eligible clinician types for Year 3 of QPP. This fulfills their goal to include more providers who bill Medicare Part B. This change more than doubles the total number of EC’s required to participate in Program Year 3.
Newly eligible clinician types for 2019:
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Qualified speech-language pathologists
- Qualified audiologists
- Clinical psychologists
- Registered dietitian or nutritional professionals
We’ll discuss the new expanded clinician types and what flexibilities are available for 2019. In addition, we’ll highlight how the expanded clinician types, along with other changes such as the opt-in option, will impact Year 3.
Webinar – QPP Year 3: Identifying Your Eligible Clinicians
Thursday January 24, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Jan 4, 2019
The deadline to submit program year 2018 attestations is March 31, 2019 for The KY Medicaid EHR Incentive Program (Promoting Interoperability). The reporting period is any consecutive 90 day period for MU Objectives. The eCQM reporting period is 90 days for first-time MU participants and a full year for returning MU participants in calendar year 2018.
If you haven’t already, contact your Health IT Advisor at the KY REC to schedule a meeting to submit your attestation.
Contact our expert advisors at Kentucky REC with your questions. We’re here to help. 859-323-3090
Jan 4, 2019
CMS just announced an updated and streamlined system for creating and verifying user accounts for the Quality Payment Program (QPP).
For 2017 and 2018 an organization representative was required to have access to their organization data through the Enterprise Identity Data Management (EIDM) System. This was in order to gain access to the submission area of qpp.cms.gov, to submit QPP data and verify eligibility. This system is no longer used for the QPP and is now replaced by the HCQIS Access Roles and Profile (HARP) System.
Good News! If you already had an EIDM account, your login information and accesses should have migrated to the new HARP System.
Any new users will need to request and manage their access to organizations by using the HARP System and qpp.cms.gov. Access to this identity verification system is REQUIRED to be able to submit data for the QPP program. It is also used to request any targeted reviews, view progress on claims measure performance, view eligibility, and many other tasks, depending on your access and the type of organization you represent. For a step-by-step guide to signing up for a HARP account, refer to the QPP Access User Guide.
Contact our Quality Payment Program expert advisors at Kentucky REC with your questions. We’re here to help. 859-323-3090
