Does she or doesn't she (have to participate in MIPS)? Only CMS knows for sure.

After a slight delay the merit-based payment system (MIPS) participation lookup tool is up and running for 2018.

 

MIPS-eligible clinicians can enter their national provider identifier (NPI) — or, what's more likely, a member of the medical practice team will enter the NPI — and learn whether the clinician needs to participate in MIPS this year to avoid a pay cut in 2020.

 

We tested it out and found that it provides a wealth of detail, including the number of tax identification numbers associated with the NPI, why the doctor is MIPS-exempt and any special statuses for the individual doctor or the doctor's practice.

 

There does appear to be one bug in the system: After we had entered one NPI, we tested a second NPI -- and received a request to enter a "valid" NPI . But hitting the back button and opening the tool again seemed to clear up the problem.

 

Remember that this tool is for MIPS participants. A look up tool for clinicians in an alternative payment model is in process, CMS stated in an e-mail announcement about the tool.