The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a federal group tasked to advise Congress on Medicare, has reached a near-unanimous consensus that the Merit-based Incentive Payment System created by the bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act should be repealed and replaced, according to a brief from Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Strategic Health Care.
MedPAC commissioners in support of axing MIPS cite the financial burden on physicians to comply with reporting requirements and issues with the metrics. "Staff pointed to the burden on physicians, estimated to be $1 billion in reporting costs for 2017, as well as the items being measured and statistical limitations as reasons to eliminate MIPS," the brief reads.
MedPAC floated the idea of creating a voluntary replacement program that would measure physicians similar to the way MACRA's other track, Advanced Alternative Payment Models, evaluates physicians. Commissioners also suggested repealing and not replacing MIPS to push more physicians to participate in the Advanced APM track.
The commission plans to discuss and draft recommendations to Congress in December and vote on recommendations early next year, according to the brief.
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