CMS' "Quality Measure Development Plan" for the coming merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) and alternative payment models (APMs), released Friday, gives few clues as to what the new regulatory order for Medicare providers will be like.
The 61-page document, released Dec. 18, lays out early steps to comply with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) passed by Congress and replaces the current physician quality reporting system (PQRS), value modifier and meaningful use program with a "composite performance score across four performance categories -- Quality, Resource use, Clinical practice improvement activities, [and] Meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology" for which the provider will be either rewarded or penalized.
The development of standards for APMs, which will be exempt from the MIPS schema, are also on the agenda.
Plans include collaboration among various stakeholder groups in the federal health community, including a "Measure Applications Partnership" and a "Core Quality Collaborative," with the eventual goal of "streamling data acquisition for measure testing," "indetifying and developing meaningful outcome measures," etc.
This is only a draft -- "the final MDP, taking into account public comments on this draft plan, will be
posted on the CMS.gov website by May 1, 2016, followed by updates annually or as otherwise appropriate," says CMS. Stay tuned!