The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and its contractor, Acumen LLC, are field testing 13 episode-based cost measures before considering their potential use in the Cost performance category of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) of the Quality Payment Program (QPP) in 2020 and beyond. The field test reports will include performance feedback on a coronary artery bypass grafting episode and new versions of the Total Per Capita Cost (TPCC) and Medicare Spend Per Beneficiary (MSPB) measures.

Clinicians and clinician groups meeting the minimum number of cases – 10 episodes for at least one of the 11 episode-based cost measures, 35 episodes for the MSPB clinician measure, or 20 beneficiaries for the TPCC measure – will receive a confidential Field Test Report with information about their cost performance. Field testing will begin the first week of October and continue for four weeks.

The measurement period for these confidential Field Test Reports is Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2017 for the 11 episode-based cost measures and the MSPB clinician cost measure. The measurement period for the TPCC measure is Oct. 1, 2016 – Sept. 30, 2017. Mock reports and draft measure specifications for each of these measures will be available on the CMS MACRA Feedback page once field testing begins.

Clinical Topics: Cardiovascular Care Team

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., Medicaid, Medicare, Health Expenditures

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