To allow providers to focus on responding to COVID-19, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) announced on Sunday, March 22, that the deadline for 2019 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) submission has been extended to 8 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2020. Providers who have already completed a 2019 MIPS submission do not need to take further action; the score and payment adjustment for the 2021 calendar year will be calculated as usual. Any provider who submits data on two or more MIPS categories will receive a score and payment adjustment based on that performance.
Providers may choose to not submit for 2019 MIPS and receive a neutral payment adjustment in 2021. CMS updated the extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy to automatically apply to any provider who does not submit MIPS data by April 30. These providers will receive a score equal to the performance threshold for a neutral payment adjustment. No action is necessary from the provider to qualify for the neutral payment adjustment.
For Quality Payment Program questions, contact 866-288-8292, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. EDT or by e-mail at QPP@cms.hhs.gov. Notice of these changes can also be found on the Quality Payment Program website.