Quality Payment Program (MACRA) Proposed Rule

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Proposed Rule for Quality Payment Program Year 2
The Quality Payment Program, established under the Medicare Access and CHIP
Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), began in 2017, known as the transition year. The
Program’s main goals are to:
Improve health outcomes.
Spend wisely.
Minimize burden of participation.
Be fair and transparent.
The Quality Payment Program has 2 tracks: (1) The Merit-based Incentive Payment System
(MIPS) and (2) Advanced Alternative Payment Models (Advanced APMs).
Because the Quality Payment Program brings significant changes to how clinicians are paid
within Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to go slow
and use stakeholder feedback to find ways to streamline and reduce clinician burden. CMS has
engaged more than 100 stakeholder organizations and over 47,000 people since January 1,
2017 to raise awareness, solicit feedback, and help clinicians prepare to participate. Based on
stakeholder feedback, CMS established transition year policies from the clinician perspective,
such as:
Giving clinicians the option to choose how they’ll participate (also known as Pick Your Pace).
Having a low-volume threshold that exempts many clinicians with a low volume of Medicare
Part B payments or patients.
Allowing flexibilities for clinicians who are considered hospital-based or have limited face-to-
face encounters with patients (referred to as non-patient facing clinicians).
As the Quality Payment Program moves into the second year, CMS wants to ensure that there
is meaningful measurement and the opportunity for improved patient outcomes while minimizing
burden, improving coordination of care for patients, and supporting a pathway to participation in
Advanced APMs.
Quality Payment Program Year 2 Proposals: MIPS
For the second year of the program, CMS wants to keep what’s working and use stakeholder
and clinician feedback to improve the policies finalized in the transition year. CMS proposes to
continue to reduce burden and offer flexibilities to help clinicians to successfully participate by:
Offering the Virtual Groups participation option.
Increasing the low-volume threshold so that more small practices and eligible clinicians in rural
and Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are exempt from MIPS participation.
Continuing to allow the use of 2014 Edition CEHRT (Certified Electronic Health Record
Technology), while encouraging the use of 2015 edition CEHRT.
Adding bonus points in the scoring methodology for:
o Caring for complex patients.

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o Using 2015 Edition CEHRT exclusively.
Incorporating MIPS performance improvement in scoring quality performance.
Incorporating the option to use facility-based scoring for facility-based clinicians.
CMS is also proposing more flexibilities for clinicians in small practices that would:
Add a new hardship exception for clinicians in small practices under the Advancing Care
Information performance category.
Add bonus points to the Final Score of clinicians in small practices.
Continue to award small practices 3 points for measures in the Quality performance category
that don’t meet data completeness requirements.
Based on stakeholder and clinician feedback, CMS has proposed policies with respect to the
use of Appropriate Use Criteria, and certain policies enacted under the 21st Century Cures Act
that affect the Quality Payment Program.
Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC)
The AUC were first introduced in the calendar year (CY) 2016 Physician Fee Schedule Final
Rule with Comment Period. More policies were added to the AUC in the CY 2017 Physician Fee
Schedule Final Rule. The evidence-based AUC will help clinicians who order and furnish
advanced diagnostic imaging services make the most appropriate treatment decisions for
specific clinical conditions.
For the 2018 MIPS performance period, CMS
proposes adding a new improvement activity
that MIPS eligible clinicians could choose if they
attest they’re using AUC through a qualified
clinical decision support mechanism for all
advanced diagnostic imaging services ordered.
21st Century Cures Act
Enacted in 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act
contains provisions affecting how CEHRT
impacts the Quality Payment Program’s current
transition year and future years. The 21st
Century Cures Act was enacted after the
publication of the Quality Payment Program
Year 1 Final Rule. In the Year 2 proposed rule,
CMS is proposing to implement the provisions in
the 21st Century Cures Act, some of which will
apply to the MIPS transition year.
Reweighting the Advancing Care Information
performance category to 0% of the final score
The Year 2 proposed rule offers Virtual Group
participation, which is another way clinicians can
elect to participate in MIPS.
Virtual Groups would be composed of solo
practitioners and groups of 10 or fewer eligible
clinicians, eligible to participate in MIPS, who
come together “virtually” with at least 1 other such
solo practitioner or group to participate in MIPS for
a performance period of a year.
Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for
Virtual Groups to form no matter where the group
members are located or what their medical
specialties are. Generally, clinicians in a Virtual
Group will report as a Virtual Group across all 4
performance categories and will need to meet the
same measure and performance category
requirements as non-virtual MIPS groups.
What are Virtual Groups?

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for ambulatory surgical center (ASC)-based MIPS eligible clinicians.
Using the authority for significant hardship exceptions and hospital-based MIPS eligible
clinicians for the Advancing Care Information performance category the 21st Century Cures
Act grants CMS.
Quality Payment Program Year 2 Proposals: APMs
CMS is keeping many of the policies finalized for the transition year, and is proposing changes
and updates, including:
Extending the revenue-based nominal amount standard, which was previously finalized
through performance year 2018, for two additional years (through performance year 2020).
This standard allows an APM to meet the financial risk criterion to qualify as an Advanced
APM if participants are required to bear total risk of at least 8% of their Medicare Parts A and
B revenue.
Changing the nominal amount standard for Medical Home Models so that the minimum
required amount of total risk increases more slowly.
Giving more detail about how the All-Payer Combination Option will be implemented. This
option allows clinicians to become Qualifying APM Participants (QPs) through a combination
of Medicare participation in Advanced APMs and participation in Other Payer Advanced
APMs. This option will be available beginning in performance year 2019.
Giving more detail on how eligible clinicians participating in selected APMs will be assessed
under the APM scoring standard. This special standard reduces burden for certain APMs
(MIPS APMs) participants who do not qualify as QPs, and are therefore subject to MIPS.
Comparison of current policies to proposed policies:
Policy Topic Current Transition Year (Final Rule
CY 2017)
Second Year (Proposed Rule
CY 2018)
MIPS POLICY
Low-Volume
Threshold
Exclude individual MIPS eligible
clinicians or groups with ≤$30,000 in
Part B allowed charges OR ≤100 Part
B beneficiaries during a low-volume
threshold determination period that
occurs during the performance period
or a prior period.
Increase the threshold to
exclude individual MIPS
eligible clinicians or groups
with ≤$90,000 in Part B
allowed charges or ≤200 Part
B beneficiaries during a low-
volume threshold
determination period that
occurs during the
performance period or a prior
period.

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Starting with 2019 MIPS
performance period: let
clinicians opt-in to MIPS if
they exceed 1 or 2 of the
low-volume threshold
components:
Medicare revenue, or
Number of Medicare
patients.
Additionally, CMS is
proposing that in 2019 the
opt-in process would be
allowable for 3 items, and is
seeking comment on a 3rd
potential component:
Number of Part B items
and services
Non-Patient
Facing
Individual’s ≤100 patient facing
encounters.
Groups: > 75% NPIs billing under the
group’s TIN during a performance
period are labeled as non-patient
facing.
There is no change in how
CMS is defining non-patient
facing clinicians, however;
CMS is proposing the same
definition for Virtual Groups.
Virtual Groups: > 75%
NPIs within a Virtual
Group during a
performance period are
labeled as non-patient
facing.
Submission
Mechanisms
MIPS eligible clinicians required to
use only 1 submission mechanism
per performance category.
Allow individual MIPS
eligible clinicians and
groups to submit
measures and activities
through multiple
submission mechanisms
within a performance
category as available and

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applicable to meet the
requirements of the
Quality, Improvement
Activities, or Advancing
Care Information
performance categories.
Virtual Groups Not available in current transition year. Key Proposals:
Adding Virtual Groups as
participation option for
year 2, which would be
composed of solo
practitioners and groups
of 10 or fewer eligible
clinicians who come
together “virtually” with at
least 1 other such solo
practitioner or group to
participate in MIPS for a
performance period of a
year.
In order for solo
practitioners to be eligible
to join a Virtual Group,
they would need to meet
the definition of a MIPS
eligible clinician and not
be excluded from MIPS
based on one of the 4
exclusions (new
Medicare-enrolled eligible
clinician; Qualifying APM
Participant; Partial
Qualifying APM
Participant who chooses
not to report on measures
and activities under MIPS;
and those who do not
exceed the low-volume
threshold). In order for

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groups of 10 or fewer
eligible clinicians to be
eligible to participate in
MIPS as part of a Virtual
Group, groups would
need to exceed the low-
volume threshold at the
group level. A group that
is part of a Virtual Group
may include eligible
clinicians who do not meet
the definition of a MIPS
eligible clinician or may be
excluded from MIPS
based on one of the four
exclusions.
Allow flexibility for solo
practitioners and groups
of 10 or fewer eligible
clinicians to decide if they
want to join or form a
Virtual Group with other
solo practitioners or
groups of 10 or fewer
eligible clinicians,
regardless of location or
specialties.
If the group chooses to
join or form a Virtual
Group, all eligible
clinicians under the TIN
would be part of the
Virtual Group.
CMS proposes various
components that would
need to be included in a
formal written agreement
between each member of
the Virtual Group.

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Virtual Groups that
choose this participation
option would need to
make an election prior to
the 2018 performance
period (as outlined in the
MACRA legislation).
If/when TIN/NPIs move to
an APM, CMS proposes
to exercise waiver
authority so that CMS can
use the APM score
instead of the Virtual
Group score.
Generally, policies that
apply to groups would
apply to Virtual Groups,
except the following
group-related policies:
o Definition of non-patient
facing MIPS eligible
clinician.
o Small practice status.
o Rural area and Health
Professional Shortage
Area designations.
Facility-Based
Measurement
Not available in current transition year. Implement an optional
voluntary facility-based
scoring mechanism based
on the Hospital Value
Based Purchasing
Program.
Available only for facility-
based clinicians who have
at least 75% of their
covered professional
services supplied in the
inpatient hospital setting
or emergency department.

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The facility-based
measurement option
converts a hospital Total
Performance Score into a
MIPS Quality performance
category and Cost
performance category
score.
Quality Weight to final score:
60% in 2019 payment year.
30% in 2021 payment year and
beyond.
Data completeness:
50% for submission mechanisms
except for Web Interface and
CAHPS.
Measures that do not meet the
data completeness criteria receive
3 points.
Scoring:
3-point floor for measures scored
against a benchmark.
3 points for measures that don’t
have a benchmark or don’t meet
case minimum requirements.
3 points for measures that do not
meet data completeness.
Bonus for additional high priority
measures up to 10%.
Bonus for end-to-end electronic
reporting up to 10%.
Weight to final score:
60% in 2020 payment
year.
30% in 2021 payment
year and beyond.
Data completeness:
No change, but CMS
proposes to increase the
data completeness
threshold to 60% for the
2019 MIPS performance
period.
Measures that do not
meet data completeness
criteria will get 1 point
instead of 3 points, except
that small practices will
continue to get 3 points.
Scoring:
Keep 3-point floor for
measures scored against
a benchmark.
Keep 3 points for
measures that don’t have
a benchmark or don’t
meet case minimum
requirement.

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Measures that do not
meet data completeness
requirements will get 1
point instead of 3 points,
except that small practices
will continue to get 3
points.
No change to bonuses.
Proposed changes to the
CAHPS for MIPS survey
collection and scoring.
Quality/
Topped Out
Quality
Measures
No policies established in the current
transition year.
Starting with the 2018
MIPS performance year,
in the second consecutive
year, or beyond, CMS
proposes to use a cap of 6
points for a select set of 6
topped out measures.
CMS proposes to identify
topped out measures, and
after 3 years, to consider
removal from the program
through rulemaking in the
4th
year.
This policy on topped out
measures wouldn’t apply
to CMS Web Interface
measures.
Cost Weight to final score:
30% in 2021 payment year and
beyond.
CMS proposes 0% in
2020 MIPS payment year,
but are soliciting feedback
on keeping the weight at
10%.
30% in 2021 MIPS
payment year and
beyond.

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Measures:
Will include the Medicare Spending
per Beneficiary (MSPB) and total
per capita cost measures.
10 episode-based cost measures.
Measures do not contribute to the
score, feedback is provided for
these measures.
Measures:
Include only the Medicare
Spending per Beneficiary
(MSPB) and total per
capita cost measures in
calculating Cost
score for the 2018 MIPS
performance period.
However, these measures
will not contribute to the
2018 final score if the
Cost performance
category is finalized to be
weighted at 0%.
CMS expects to replace
previous episode-based
cost measures are
developed in collaboration
with expert clinicians and
other stakeholders.
Improvement
Scoring for
Quality and Cost
Not applicable in the current
transition year.
Rewards improvement in
performance (applicable
to the Quality and Cost
performance categories
only) for an individual
MIPS eligible clinician or
group for a current
performance period
compared to the prior
performance period.
For Quality:
Improvement scoring will
be based on the rate of
improvement so that
higher improvement
results in more points,

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particularly for those
improving from lower
performance in the
transition year.
o Improvement is
measured at the Quality
level.
o Up to 10 percentage
points available in the
Quality performance
category.
For Cost:
Improvement scoring will
be based on statistically
significant changes at the
measure level.
CMS proposes an
improvement scoring
methodology for Cost, but
it wouldn’t affect the MIPS
final score for the 2020
MIPS payment year if the
Cost performance
category weight is
finalized at 0%.
CMS will add improvement
percentage points to the
Quality performance category
and Cost performance
category scores (beginning in
the 2021 payment year for
cost), but the performance
category scores can’t exceed
100%.

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Improvement
Activities
15% and measured based on a
selection of different medium and
high-weighted activities.
Number of activities:
No more than 2 activities (2
medium or 1 high-weighted activity)
are needed to receive the full score
for small practices, practices in
rural areas, geographic HPSAs,
and non-patient facing MIPS
eligible clinicians.
No more than 4 activities (4
medium or 2 high-weighted
activities, or a combination) for all
other MIPS eligible clinicians.
Total of 40 points.
92 activities were included in the
Inventory.
Definition of certified patient-
centered medical home:
Includes accreditation as a patient-
centered medical home from 1 of 4
nationally-recognized accreditation
organizations; a Medicaid Medical
Home Model or Medical Home
Model; NCQA patient-centered
specialty recognition; and
certification from other payer, state
or regional programs as a patient-
centered medical home if the
certifying body has 500 or more
certified member practices.
Only 1 practice within a TIN has to
be recognized as a patient-
No change.
Number of activities:
No change in the number
of activities that MIPS
eligible clinicians have to
report to reach a total of
40 points.
CMS is proposing more
activities to choose from
and changes to existing
activities for the Inventory.
MIPS eligible clinicians in
small practices and
practices in a rural areas
will keep reporting on no
more than 2 medium or 1
high-weighted activity to
reach the highest score.
Definition of certified
patient-centered medical
home:
CMS proposes to expand
the definition of certified
home to include the CPC+
APM model.
CMS proposes to make it
clear that the term
“recognized” is the same
as the term “certified” as a
home or comparable
specialty practice.

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centered medical home or
comparable specialty practice for
the TIN to get full credit in the
category.
Scoring:
All APMs get at least 1/2 of the
highest score, but CMS will give
MIPS APMs an additional score to
reach the highest score based on
their model. All other APMs must
choose other activities to get
additional points for the highest
score.
Designated specific activities within
the performance category that also
qualify for Advancing Care
Information bonus.
For group reporting, only 1 MIPS
eligible clinician in a TIN must
perform the Improvement Activity
for the TIN to get credit.
Allow simple attestation of
Improvement Activities.
CMS proposes a
threshold of 50% for 2018
for the number of
practices within a TIN that
need to be recognized as
homes for the TIN to get
the full credit for the
Improvement Activities
performance category.
Scoring:
No change to the scoring
policy for APMs and MIPS
APMs.
Keep designated activities
within the performance
category that also qualify
for an Advancing Care
Information bonus.
For group participation,
only 1 MIPS eligible
clinician in a TIN has to
perform the Improvement
Activity for the TIN to get
credit. CMS is soliciting
comments on alternatives
for a future threshold.
Keep allowing simple
attestation of
Improvement Activities.
Advancing Care
Information
Allow clinicians to use either the
2014 or 2015 CEHRT Edition for
the 2017 transition year and require
use of 2015 CEHRT edition for
2018.
Performance points awarded for
reporting both required and
Key Proposals:
Allow MIPS eligible
clinicians to use either the
2014 or 2015 Edition
CEHRT in 2018; grants a

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optional measures (up to 10 points
each).
Bonus (5%) for reporting to 1 or
more additional public health and
clinical data registries.
Bonus (10%) for completion of at
least 1 of the specified
Improvement Activities using
CEHRT.
Allowed reweighting of the
Advancing Care Information
category to 0, if there are
insufficient measures applicable
and available to MIPS eligible
clinicians.
bonus for using only 2015
Edition CEHRT.
Add exclusions for the E-
Prescribing and Health
Information Exchange
Measures.
Adds more Improvement
Activities that show the
use of CEHRT to the list
eligible for an Advancing
Care Information bonus.
Allow a MIPS eligible
clinician to not report on
the Immunization Registry
Reporting measure and
potentially earn 5% each
for reporting any of the
Public Health and Clinical
Data Registry Reporting
measures as part of the
performance score, up to
10%, and awarding an
additional 5% bonus for
reporting to an additional
registry not reported under
the performance score.
Add a decertification
exception for eligible
clinicians whose EHR was
decertified, retroactively
effective to performance
periods in 2017.
Change the deadline for
the exception application
submission for 2017 and
future years to be
December 31 of the
performance year.
For small practices (15 or
fewer clinicians), add a

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new category of hardship
exceptions to reweight
Advancing Care
Information performance
category to 0 and
reallocate the Advancing
Care Information
weight of 25% to the
Quality performance
category.
Proposes 2 policies
retroactive to the transition
year based on the 21st
Century Cures Act, which
was passed after
publication of the Year 1
Final Rule:
o Ambulatory surgical
center (ASC)-based
MIPS eligible clinicians
will be automatically
reweighted to 0.
o Clarifying policies on
hardship exceptions for
the Advancing Care
Information
performance category,
using the authority of
the 21st
Century Cures
Change time period for
the application of the
potential modifications
to the weight of the
Advancing Care
Information

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Complex
Patients Bonus
Not available in the current
transition year.
Apply an adjustment of up
to 3 bonus points by
adding the average
Hierarchical Conditions
Category (HCC) risk score
to the final score.
Generally, this will award
between 1 to 3 points to
clinicians based on the
medical complexity of the
patients they see.
Ask for comments on the
option of including dual
eligibility as a method of
adjusting scores as an
alternative to the HCC risk
score or in addition to the
HCC risk score.
Small Practice
Bonus
Not available in current transition
year.
Adjust the final score of
any eligible clinician or
group who’s in a small
practice (defined in the
regulations as 15 or fewer
clinicians) by adding 5
points to the final score,
as long as the eligible
clinician or group submits
data on at least 1
performance category in
an applicable
performance period.
Ask for comments on
whether the small practice
bonus should be given to
those who practice in rural
areas as well.

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Final Score If no Advancing Care Information
performance category, then
reassign to the Quality
If no Quality performance category,
then reassign 50% to Improvement
Activities and 50% to Advancing
Care Information.
The Quality performance category
weight isn’t lowered if there are
only 1 or 2 scored measures.
2018 MIPS performance
year final score:
Quality 60%, Cost 0%,
Improvement Activities
15%, and Advancing Care
Information 25%.
Keep reweighting the
Advancing Care
Information performance
category to the Quality
performance category for
participants who meet
exclusions.
Make new extenuating
circumstances for all
performance categories.
Add up to 5 bonus points
for small practice bonus.
Add up to 3 bonus points
to the final score for caring
for complex patients.
Performance
Threshold/
Payment
Adjustment
Performance threshold is set at 3
points.
Additional performance threshold
set at 70 points for exceptional
performance bonus.
Payment adjustment for the 2019
payment year ranges from - 4% to
+ (4% x scaling factor not to
exceed 3) as required by law. (The
scaling factor is determined in a
way so that budget neutrality is
achieved.)
Additional performance threshold
starts at 0.5 and goes up to 10% x
scaling factor not to exceed 1.
Performance threshold set
at 15 points. Comments
are solicited on whether it
should be higher or lower.
Additional performance
threshold stays at 70
points for exceptional
performance.
Payment adjustment for
the 2020 payment year
ranges from - 5% to + (5%
x scaling factor) as
required by law. (The
scaling factor is
determined in a way so
that budget neutrality is
achieved.)

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Additional performance
threshold range doesn’t
change.
The payment adjustment
is applied to the amount
Medicare paid for Part B
claims.
Performance
Period
Minimum 90-day performance
period for Quality, Advancing Care
Information, and Improvement
Activities. Exception: measures
through CMS Web Interface,
CAHPS, and the readmission
measure are for 12 months. Cost is
measured for 12 months.
Quality and Cost: 12-
month calendar year
performance period.
Advancing Care
Information and
Improvement Activities: 90
days minimum
performance period.
ADVANCED APM POLICY
Generally
Applicable
Nominal Amount
Standard
Total potential risk under the APM
must be equal to at least: either 8%
of the average estimated Parts A
and B revenue of the participating
APM Entities for the QP
performance period in 2017 and
2018 (the revenue-based
standard), OR 3% of the expected
expenditures for an APM Entity is
responsible for under the APM for
all performance years.
8% revenue-based
standard is extended for
two additional years,
through performance
year 2020.
Medical Home
Model Financial
Risk Standard
In order for an APM to meet the
medical home standard, the APM
Entity must, if actual expenditures
exceed expected expenditures or
performance on specified
performance measures doesn’t
meet or exceed expected
performance, be subject to:
Exempt Round 1
participants in the
Comprehensive Primary
Care Plus Model (CPC+)
from the requirement that
the medical home
standard applies only to
APM Entities with fewer

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o Withheld payment for services
to the APM Entity and/or the
APM Entity’s eligible clinicians;
o Lower payment rates to the
APM Entity and/or the APM
Entity’s eligible clinicians;
o Repayments to CMS; or
o Loss of the right to all or part of
an otherwise guaranteed
payment or payments.
Starting in the 2018 QP
performance period, the Medical
Home Model Advanced APM
financial risk standard wouldn’t
apply for APM Entities that are
owned and operated by
organizations with more than 50
eligible clinicians.
than 50 clinicians in their
parent organization.
Medical Home
Model Nominal
Amount
Standard
The total potential risk for an APM
Entity under the Medical Home
Model Standard must be equal to
at least:
o 2.5% of the estimated average
total Parts A and B revenue of
participating APM Entities for
performance year 2017.
o 3% of the estimated average
Minimum total potential
risk for an APM Entity
under the Medical Home
Model Standard is
adjusted to:
o 2% of the estimated
average total Medicare
Parts A and B revenues
of all providers and
suppliers in
participating APM
Entities for performance
year 2018.
suppliers in
participating APM
Entities for the QP

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performance period in
2019.
suppliers in
participating APM
year 2020.
suppliers in
participating APM
years 2021 and after.
Qualifying APM
Participant (QP)
Performance
Period and QP
and Partial QP
Determination
Beginning in 2017, the QP
performance period will be January
1 – August 31 each year.
CMS will make 3 QP
determinations using data available
through March 31, through June
30, and through the last day of the
QP performance period,
respectively.
The QP performance
period stays the same but
will be called the Medicare
QP performance period
(creating a term for the
All-Payer QP performance
period).
The period the
payment/patient threshold
calculations are based on
is modified for certain
Advanced APMs. For
Advanced APMs that start
or end during the QP
performance period, QP
Threshold Scores would
be calculated using only
the dates that APM
Entities were able to
participate in the
Advanced APM, as long

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as they were able to
participate for at least 60
continuous days during
the QP performance
period.
ALL-PAYER COMBINATION OPTION/OTHER PAYER ADVANCED APM POLICY
Generally
Applicable
Nominal Amount
Standard
Nominal amount of risk must be:
o Marginal Risk of at least 30%;
o Minimum Loss Rate of no more
than 4%; and
o Total Risk of at least 3% of the
expected expenditures the
APM Entity is responsible for
under the APM.
In addition to the existing
Total Risk standard, an
additional revenue-based
nominal amount standard
of 8% is added. This
standard would only apply
to models in which risk for
APM Entities is expressly
defined in terms of
revenue. It would be an
additional option, and
would not replace or
supersede the
expenditure-based
standard previously
finalized.
All-Payer
Combination
Option QP
Performance
Period
Beginning in 2019, the QP
performance period will be January
1 – August 31 each year.
CMS will make 3 QP
determinations (Q1, Q2, and Q3)
using data available through March
31, through June 30, and through
the last day of the QP performance
period, respectively.
A separate All-Payer QP
Determination Period is
created, and would last
from January 1 – June 30
of the performance year.
All-Payer Combination
Option QP determinations
would be made based on
2 periods: January 1 –
March 31 or January 1 –
June 30.
Payer-Initiated
Determination of
Not addressed in the CY 2017
Final Rule.
Starting in performance
year 2019, payers would

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Other Payer
Advanced APMs
be able to submit payment
arrangements authorized
under Title XIX, Medicare
Health Plan payment
arrangements, and
payment arrangements in
CMS Multi-Payer Models
before the relevant All-
Payer QP performance
period.
This option would be
offered to other payer
types in future years.
All-Payer
Combination
Option QP
Determinations
QP determinations under the All-
Payer Combination Option would
be made at either the APM Entity
or individual eligible clinician level,
depending on the circumstances.
QP determinations under
the All-Payer Combination
Option would be
calculated at the individual
eligible clinician level only.
If the Medicare Threshold
Score for an eligible
clinician is higher when
calculated for the APM
Entity group than when
calculated for the
individual eligible clinician,
CMS will make the QP
determination under the
All-Payer Combination
Option using a weighted
Medicare Threshold Score
that will be factored into
an All-Payer Combination
Option Threshold Score
calculated at the individual
eligible clinician level.
Eligible Clinician
Initiated
Submission of
To be assessed under the All-
Payer Combination Option, APM
Entities or eligible clinicians would
APM Entities or eligible
clinicians may submit
information regarding their

23
CY 2017)
CY 2018)
Information and
Data for
Assessing Other
Payer Advanced
APMs and
Making All-Payer
Combination
Option QP
Determinations
be required to provide CMS with
the following information:
o Payment arrangement
information needed to assess
the other payer arrangement on
all Other Payer Advanced APM
criteria.
o For each other payment
arrangement, the amount of
revenues for services furnished
through the arrangement, the
total revenues from the payer,
the numbers of patients
furnished any service through
the arrangement, and the total
numbers of patients furnished
any service through the payer.
o An attestation from the payer
that the submitted information
is correct.
payment arrangement to
and request that CMS
make Other Payer
Advanced APM
determinations, when the
determination had not
already been made
through the Payer-Initiated
process.
o The requirement for
attestation from the
payer is eliminated;
APM Entities or eligible
clinicians would need to
certify information they
submit.
MIPS APM/APM SCORING STANDARD POLICY
Identifying MIPS
APM
Participants
If a MIPS eligible clinician is on an
APM Participation List on at least
one of the APM participation
assessment (Participation List
‘‘snapshot’’) dates, the MIPS
eligible clinician will be included in
the APM Entity group for purposes
of the APM scoring standard for the
applicable performance year. If the
MIPS eligible clinician is not on the
APM Entity’s Participation List on at
least one of the snapshots dates
(March 31, June 30, or August 31),
then the MIPS eligible clinician will
need to submit data to MIPS using
the MIPS individual or group
A fourth snapshot date of
December 31 will be
added for the purpose of
determining participation
in full TIN MIPS APMs.
This fourth snapshot date
will not be used to make
QP determinations and
will not extend the QP
performance period
beyond August 31.

24
CY 2017)
CY 2018)
reporting option and adhere to all
generally applicable MIPS data
submission requirements to avoid a
negative payment adjustment.
Virtual Groups
and MIPS APMs
No previously finalized policy. CMS is proposing to
waive sections of the
statute that would require
that all participants in a
Virtual Group receive their
MIPS payment adjustment
based on the Virtual
Group score, so that
participants in APM
Entities in MIPS APMs
may receive their MIPS
payment adjustment
based on their APM Entity
score under the APM
scoring standard.
Quality
performance
category
Use quality measure data reported
through APM.
50% weight for MSSP, Next
Generation ACO Model in the first
year.
0% weight for other MIPS APMs in
the first year.
Use quality data reported
through the APM.
Performance Category
weight = 50%.
Quality Improvement
points will be available
beginning in the 2018
performance year for any
APM Entity for which 2017
quality performance data
are available.
Improvement
Activities
performance
category
20% weight for MSSP, Next
Generation ACO Model.
25% weight for other MIPS APMs
for first year.
Automatic assignment of
Improvement Activity scores based
on APM design (no reporting
activity required). CMS will review
CPC+ practices that are
assigned to a control
group will receive full
credit in the Improvement
Activities performance
category.

25
CY 2017)
CY 2018)
each MIPS APM on a case-by-
case basis, identify activities
inherent to the design of those
APMs that correlate to
Improvement Activities, and assign
the correlating Improvement
Activity score to the APM Entity
group.
The improvement
activities performance
category weight = 20%.
Advancing Care
Information
performance
category
The Advancing Care Information
performance category for the 2017
performance period is weighted at
30% for the Medicare Shared
Savings Program and the Next
Generation ACO model MIPS
APMs.
For all other MIPS APMs this
performance category is weighted
at 75% for the 2017 performance
period.
The improvement
activities performance
category weight = 30%
Cost
performance
category
The cost performance category
weight = 0%
The cost performance
category weight = 0%
Continuing the dialogue
Continuing our user-centered approach, CMS wants to hear from the health care community on
the proposed policy and the implications for clinicians in Year 2, as well as on our message and
education delivery. To give feedback or host a listening session, please contact us at
QPP@cms.hhs.gov.
How to comment on the proposed rule
Please see the proposed rule for how to submit comments by the close of the 60-day comment
period on August 18, 2017. When commenting refer to file code CMS 5522-P.
Instructions for submitting comments are in the proposed rule; FAX transmissions won’t be
accepted. Use 1 of the following ways to officially submit comments:
Electronically through Regulations.gov

26
Regular mail
Express or overnight mail
Hand or courier
For more information, go to: qpp.cms.gov
Contact us
The Quality Payment Program can be reached at 1-866-288-8292 (TTY 1-877-715- 6222),
Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM-8:00 PM Eastern time or by email at: QPP@cms.hhs.gov.

Quality Payment Program (MACRA) Proposed Rule

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