The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will give providers some flexibility during the first year of reporting under the streamlined Quality Payment Program (QPP) proposed as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).
Under MACRA, three existing physician quality programs will be consolidated into the QPP: the physician quality reporting system, the Medicare Electronic Health Records Incentive Program for eligible professionals, and the value-based payment modifier.
Option 4: Providers choosing to participate in an Advanced Alternative Payment Model in 2017 can qualify for a 5 percent incentive payment in 2019 if they successfully meet program thresholds.
The MACRA final rule has yet to be released, but Slavitt wrote that CMS expects to publish the final regulation before Nov. 1.