MGMA to Congress: Support practices in funding legislation

Last Friday, MGMA sent a letter to Congress urging for the following priorities to be considered while they negotiate the upcoming February funding legislation:

• Extend Medicare sequester relief beyond March 2022;
• Continue telehealth flexibilities through at least CY 2024;
• Extend the alternative payment model (APM) 5% bonus;
• Update the Qualifying Participant (QP) threshold; and
• Delay implementation of the good faith estimate (GFE) and advanced explanation of benefits (AEOB) requirements.

2020 MIPS participation results now available

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released participation results for the 2020 performance year of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). MIPS participation slightly decreased from 2019 to 2020 and 81% of clinicians received a final score at or above the exceptional performance threshold.  

Throughout 2020, many clinicians were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, CMS provided clinicians with the option to apply for reweighting of all or some MIPS performance categories. In 2020, 26% of participants received reweighting of at least one performance category.   

MGMA urges Congress to extend telehealth flexibilities

MGMA and hundreds of other leading organizations wrote to Congress asking for a pathway to comprehensive permanent telehealth reform. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Administration acted quickly to expand Medicare telehealth, allowing millions of beneficiaries access to virtual care. These flexibilities hinge on whether the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is in effect, leading to uncertainty surrounding how long these waivers will remain.

The letter urges Congress to continue all current telehealth waivers through Dec. 31, 2024, allowing time to collect the necessary evidence needed to support permanent policy.