The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced multiple flexibilities for clinicians responding to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
- CMS extended the 2019 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) data submission deadline to April 30, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET.
- CMS announced that the MIPS automatic extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy will apply to MIPS eligible clinicians who do not submit their MIPS data by the April 30 deadline. MIPS eligible clinicians who do not submit MIPS data by April 30, 2020 will automatically qualify for the extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy. (Clinicians can check the QPP Participation Status Tool to see if the policy has been automatically applied.)
- CMS is reopening the MIPS extreme and uncontrollable circumstances application. Individual clinicians who started, but are unable to complete, their data submission; or groups that started, but are unable to complete, their data submission should apply. Application submitted between April 3 and April 30, 2020, citing COVID-19, will override any previous data submission.
For more information, please see the Quality Payment Program COVID-19 Response Fact Sheet.
You can contact the Quality Payment program at 1-866-288-8292, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET or by e-mail at: QPP@cms.hhs.gov.