CMS Annouces Relief for Providers Participating in Quality Reporting Programs in Response to COVID-19

CMS announced unprecedented relief for the clinicians, providers, and facilities participating in Medicare quality reporting programs. Among the delays are:

  • MIPS Quality Payment Program: 2019 data submission deadline extended from March 31, 2020 to April 30, 2020
  • Home Health, Hospice, IRF, LTCH, SNF 2019 data submission for October 1 2019 – December 31 2019 is optional. If Q4 is submitted, it will be used to calculate the 2019 performance and payment (where appropriate).

CMS released Frequently Asked Questions on Medicare Provider Enrollment Relief related to COVID-19 including the toll-free hotlines available to provide expedited enrollment and answer questions related to COVID-19 enrollment requirements. A copy of the FAQs can be found here.

For those programs with data submission deadlines in April and May 2020, submission of those data will be optional, based on the facility’s choice to report. In addition, no data reflecting services provided January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 will be used in CMS’s calculations for the Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs. This is being done to reduce the data collection and reporting burden on providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CMS recognizes that quality measure data collection and reporting for services furnished during this time period may not be reflective of their true level of performance on measures such as cost, readmissions and patient experience during this time of emergency and seeks to hold organizations harmless for not submitting data during this period.

CMS will continue monitoring the developing COVID-19 situation and assess options to bring additional relief to clinicians, facilities, and their staff so they can focus on caring for patients.

This action, and earlier CMS actions in response to COVID-19, are part of the ongoing White House Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit www.coronavirus.gov. For a complete and updated list of CMS actions, and other information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.