The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is reminding eligible professionals (EPs) participating in PQRS quality reporting that this is the last year incentive payments will be issued for satisfactory reporting.

This is the last year eligible professionals can earn an incentive payment for satisfactorily reporting PQRS quality data to CMS, and this year’s participation in PQRS will also determine the 2016 PQRS payment adjustment.

If you satisfactorily submit PQRS quality measures to CMS using one of the approved reporting options for services provided during the 2014 reporting period, you will qualify to earn an incentive payment.

If you qualify, you will receive an incentive payment equal to 0.5% of your total estimated Medicare Part B Physician Fee Service (PFS) allowed charges for covered professional services supplied during that same reporting period, and ensure that you will also avoid the 2016 payment adjustment.

Steps to Participate and Earn an Incentive

STEP 1: Determine if you are eligible to participate.

STEP 2: Determine which PQRS reporting method best fits your practice.

An individual eligible professional may choose from the following methods to submit data to CMS:

• Medicare Part B claims
• Qualified PQRS registry
• Qualified electronic health record (EHR) product
• Qualified PQRS data submission vendor
• Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR)

A group practice may choose from the following methods to submit data to CMS:

• Qualified PQRS Registry
• GPRO Web Interface (for groups of 25+ only)
• Qualified electronic health record (EHR) product
• Qualified PQRS data submission vendor
• CG CAHPS CMS-certified survey vendor (for groups of 25+ only)

STEP 3: Determine which measures to report, and review the specific criteria for the chosen reporting option in order to satisfactorily report. Download the PQRS Implementation Guide zip file for helpful resources.

STEP 4: Report your quality measures. The number of measures you will have to report varies by reporting method. Be sure to pay attention to requirements for National Quality Strategy domains.

For More Information

For more information or support on the 2014 PQRS program, please visit the PQRS Incentive Program website or the Help Desk.