Request for Information on Implementation of Quality Measurement Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requests information about how to implement the quality measurement program for physicians and other practitioners under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) which became law earlier this year, replacing the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate methodology for calculating yearly payment updates. This Request for Information (RFI) asks for input on both big picture policy issues and specific technical "how to" issues to develop and implement the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and encourage participation in Alternative Payment Models (APMs). Among other things, CMS needs input on the way that quality improvement requirements should be applied to professionals in rural areas. CMS also invites comments related to providing technical assistance on MIPS and APMs to small practices and practices in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). Beginning in 2019 (based on data reported for 2017), MIPS will replace current payment adjustments including the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VM) and the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. MIPS will include aspects of the PQRS, VM and EHR programs and also add a new category that factors in clinical practice improvement activities. To encourage participation in Alternative Payment Models (APMs), CMS exempts certain eligible professionals from MIPS if they participate in qualifying APMs. 

Comments are due November 2, 2015.

• Establishing a single, aligned reporting period for all providers based on the calendar year 
• All providers, other than Medicaid eligible providers (EPs) and eligible hospitals demonstrating meaningful use for the first time, would be required to attest based on a full year of data for a single set of meaningful use objectives and measures to demonstrate Stage 3 beginning in 2017
• Allowing providers the option to start Stage 3 of meaningful use in either 2017 or 2018 (required in 2018), which gives providers an extra year to start than under current regulation
• Aligning quality data for reporting via a single submission method for multiple CMS programs
• Simplifying meaningful use reporting requirements to eight objectives that focus on an advanced use of EHR technology and quality improvement
• Providers must report on all three patient engagement measures but successfully meet the thresholds of two:
• The first measure to view, download and transmit personal health data has increased from 5 percent to 25 percent
• The second measure requires that more than 35 percent of patients seen by the provider or discharged from the hospital receive secure messaging using the EHR
• The third measure calls for more than 15 percent of patients to contribute patient-generated health data to the EHR

Rural eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) should take a close look at the changes made to the reporting periods, patient engagement thresholds and reporting requirements, and how these changes may impact your participation in the program. A fact sheet is available for both proposed rules. 

 

New Legislation Expands Veterans Choice Program Access to Care for Eligible Veterans

Congress passed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 on July 31, expanding Veterans Choice Program eligibility to all enrolled veterans (not only those enrolled prior to August 1, 2014). Eligible veterans are also no longer limited to a single 60-day authorization for an episode of care in the community. The Act also makes it easier for community providers to join the Program. The Department of Veterans Affairs is currently working to publish the necessary regulations for implementation of these improvements.

Below please find new or updated resources to assist with the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP):

• SHIP website
• SHIP Coordinator TA
• FY16 Hospital Application Template Form
• FY16 State Spreadsheet of SHIP Applicants
• FY16 SHIP Funding Opportunity Announcement
•  FY16 SHIP Peer Webinar Recording and Resources

Date: Thursday, October 22, 2015

Time: 1:00 p.m. Central Time

The Flex Monitoring Team is a consortium of the Rural Health Research Centers in Minnesota, North Carolina and Maine funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to evaluate the impact of the Flex Program. 

Tune in to a webinar on the Impact of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Value-Based Purchasing and Readmission Reduction Programs on Rural Hospitals. Dr. Ira Moscovice and Michelle Casey, MS from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center will describe the initial impacts of these two programs on rural Prospective Payment System hospitals.  

Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Time: 12:00 p.m. Central Time

Log in: https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/rhrg_cah

Conference number: 1-888-455-9688, passcode 4485023.  

Registration is not required, but participants will be limited to the first 500 people. 

 

Rural Health Virtual Training Gateway

View upcoming rural health webinars and other virtual training events sorted by date and category.

 

Rural Assistance Center (RAC) Calendar