1. 2016;19;E917-E934Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): Harsh Choices For Interventional Pain Management Physicians
   Health Policy Review
   Joshua A. Hirsch, MD, Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, Standiford Helm II, MD, and Ramsin M. Benyamin, MD.

The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) was created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) to improve the health of all Americans by providing incentives and policies to improve patient health outcomes. MIPS combines 3 existing programs, Meaningful Use (MU), now called Advancing Care Information (ACI), contributing 25% of the composite score; Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), changed to Quality, contributing 50% of the composite score; and Value-based Payment (VBP) system to Resource Use or cost, contributing 10% of the composite score. Additionally, Clinical Practice Improvement Activities (CPIA), contributing 15% of the composite score, create multiple strategic goals to design incentives that drive movement toward delivery system reform principles with inclusion of Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs).

Under the present proposal, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has estimated approximately 30,000 to 90,000 providers from a total of over 761,000 providers will be exempt from MIPS. About 87% of solo practitioners and 70% of practitioners in groups of less than 10 will be subjected to negative payments or penalties ranging from 4% to 9%. In addition, MIPS also will affect a provider’s reputation by making performance measures accessible to consumers and third-party physician rating Web sites.

The MIPS composite performance scoring method, at least in theory, utilizes weights for each performance category, exceptional performance factors to earn bonuses, and incorporates the special circumstances of small practices.

In conclusion, MIPS has the potential to affect practitioners negatively. Interventional Pain Medicine practitioners must understand the various MIPS measures and how they might participate in order to secure a brighter future.

Key words: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, merit-based incentive payment system, quality performance measures, resource use, clinical practice improvement activities, advancing care information performance category