Merit-Based Incentive Payment System

MIPS and Medicare Deadlines

• Jan. 31, 2021 – Last day to sign data-release consent form, complete all data entry for improvement activities (IA) and promoting interoperability (PI) categories to IRIS Registry
• Feb. 1, 2021 –  Last Day to Apply for Hardship Exemption
• March 31, 2021 – Deadline to submit data through CMS portal 
• June 1 – Deadline to Register for EHR Integration with IRIS Registry
• Aug. 1 – Deadline to Integrate EHR System with IRIS Registry
• Aug. 31 – Deadline to Earn MOC MIPS Credit with Improvement Project
• Oct. 3 – Last Day to Start 90 Day Reporting Period for MIPS
• Oct. 31 – Deadline for New Practices to Register for Manual Reporting with IRIS Registry
• Dec. 31 – Deadline for EHR systems to get 2015-edition certification

The Basics

• What CMS calls the new policy: Quality Payment Program (QPP)
• Where it came from: Congress passed sweeping reform under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) to replace the sustainable growth rate.
• What this policy does: It ties Medicare payments to quality and value.
• When it takes effect: Performance evaluation began in 2017, with pay adjustments in 2019.
• Fee-for-service option: Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which combines existing quality-reporting programs with some new elements. Most ophthalmologists will likely have to use this option.
• Alternative payment model option: These new approaches to paying for the medical care of Medicare patients incentivize quality and value. Few qualifying models currently exist for ophthalmologists.

Our Commitment to Your Success

The Academy's physician leaders are working with policymakers in Washington, D.C., to secure ophthalmologists' success under the new system.

We continue to identify and address parts of the program that don't work for ophthalmologists. We're working with medicine, Congress and federal regulators to ensure the system supports you and your patients.