On November 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) released the Revisions to Payment Policies under Physician Fee
Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2019; Medicare Shared
Savings Program Requirements final rule with comment period. This is
the first year that CMS combined the Medicare PFS and the Quality
Payment Program (QPP) proposed rules. The final rule contains some
significant changes to Medicare’s physician payment and quality
programs, which consists of two participation pathways — the Merit based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which measures physicians
based on four performance categories, and advanced alternative
payment models (APMs) in which clinicians may earn incentive
payments based on sufficient participation in these models. CMS has
published several fact sheets on the rule, including a 2019 QPP final
Rule Executive Summary and a 2019 QPP Final Rule Overview Fact
Sheet. Earlier in the year, AANS/CNS expert volunteers on the
Neurosurgery Quality Council and staff provided substantive comments on the proposals in this rule.
Below is a summary of some of the quality provisions finalized in this regulation. The payment
issues summary is separately available.
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