IPRO has been awarded a special contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help physician practices in New York, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia prepare for and participate in the new Quality Payment Program, established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). This technical assistance, authorized and funded under MACRA, brings direct support to an estimated 27,000 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians in small practices with 15 or fewer clinicians, including small practices in rural locations, health professional shortage areas, and medically underserved areas across the country. The direct technical assistance is available immediately, free to all MIPS eligible clinicians, and will deliver support for up to a five-year period. “We’re very pleased to be able to support CMS in this effort to offer free technical assistance to thousands of physicians as they implement the new value-based Medicare payment system,” said IPRO Chief Medical Officer Clare Bradley, MD, MPH. IPRO will provide customized technical assistance to MIPS eligible clinicians, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Conveying the MIPS expectations and timelines,
- Explaining the MIPS feedback report,
- Creating a MIPS-score improvement plan,
- Evaluating practice readiness for joining an Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM),
- Assessing and optimizing Health Information Technology,
- Supporting change management and strategic planning,
- Developing and disseminating education and training materials,
- Enabling peer-to-peer learning and local partnerships.