CMS grants radiologists a reprieve from quality payment programs due to COVID-19
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Sunday that it’s granting radiologists, hospitals and other providers a reprieve from its quality reporting programs during the coronavirus pandemic.
In its March 22 announcement, CMS said its “unprecedented relief” applies to some 1.2 million clinicians participating in the Medicare Quality Payment Program. As part of the action, federal officials said they’re extending the deadline to submit 2019 data for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System from March 31 to April 30.
“In granting these exceptions and extensions, CMS is supporting clinicians fighting coronavirus on the frontlines,” Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. “The Trump administration is cutting bureaucratic red tape so the healthcare delivery system can direct its time and resources toward caring for patients.”
Adhering to this new MIPS deadline will afford radiology practices with the chance to receive increased reimbursement in their Medicare fee schedule for 2021 services. And those who have already submitted data can make changes up until April 30 using the qpp.cms.gov website, consulting firm Healthcare Administrative Partners advised Tuesday.
Those who fail to enter MIPS data were set to receive a fee schedule reduction of 7%. But with CMS’ policy shift, they’ll instead qualify for an automatic “extreme and uncontrollable circumstances” exception with no such reduction, the firm wrote March 24 in its HAP Radiology Billing and Coding Blog.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.