Last chance to avoid the 2014 PQRS penalty is Nov. 23

by Roy Edroso on Nov 18, 2015

Did you get word from CMS that you flunked your PQRS and value modifer reporting and have to pay the 2% penalty? You have until Monday to try and get a reprieve.

It's called "informal review" because CMS doesn't officially judge your quality reporting for penalty purposes -- it just checks your work and tells you whether you could make corrections that would get you out of paying the 2% penalty for missing the target for the PQRS program for 2014. (The VM program doesn't start using penalties until the 2015 program year, but it's a good idea to aim high anyway because they start dunning some practices next year for 2015.)

CMS started sending letters to providers in September that tell whether they're failing or not, so you probably know whether you need this review. (If not, you could check your quality and resource use reports to see for yourself.) 

The previous deadline was Nov. 9; CMS later extended it to Nov. 23 -- and there's little chance that they'll extend it again. (Also, note: There is no hardship exception for these programs, so this is your last chance to get out of the penalty.) CMS will issue its findings within 90 days of receiving the informal review request.

Go here to get the process started. CMS offers more review tools here.

The information contained herein was current as of the publication date. © Copyright DecisionHealth, all rights reserved. Electronic or print redistribution without prior written permission of DecisionHealth is strictly prohibited by federal copyright law.