CMS News

The following information has been received by ANCO.


****CMS NEWS****
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce the posting of five frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the re-run of 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) data. The FAQs below, as well as, all PQRI FAQs can be accessed under “Related Links Inside CMS” section at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI on the CMS website.

We will be updating the FAQ section, so please continue to check it often.

FAQ # 9537
Q. What is the reason for the re-run of 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) feedback reports and incentive payments?

A. CMS investigated reported issues following delivery of the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) feedback reports and incentive payments and determined that several unanticipated technical issues could be corrected by conducting back-end system analytics and re-running the data. Reports are anticipated to be available in the fall of 2009.
Reference: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI

FAQ # 9540
Q. When will the re-run of the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) feedback report and incentive payment be available? How will my practice receive this information?

A. 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) reports are anticipated to be available in the fall of 2009 and will be available to the Tax Identification Number (TIN). These reports will be available only for those eligible professionals (EPs) who have qualified due to the back-end system analysis and re-running the data. For those EPs who already received an incentive, the re-run will not apply, thus those EPs will not receive an additional feedback report. Feedback reports will be available via the PQRI Reports Delivery System (RDS). An Individuals Authorized Access to the CMS Computer Services (IACS) user name and password will be required to access the report.
Reference: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI

FAQ #9541
Q. Will eligible professionals (EPs), using their individual national provider identifier (NPI), receive an additional incentive when the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) data is re-run in the fall of 2009?

A. No. Only those eligible professionals (EPs) who previously did not receive a bonus but are bonus eligible following the back-end system analysis and re-run of the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) data will potentially receive the 2007 re-run incentive.
Reference: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI

FAQ# 9542
Q. Will there be a 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) re-run for the Medicare Care Management Performance (MCMP) and Physician Group Practice (PGP) demonstration projects?

A. No. Incentive payments to eligible Medicare Care Management Performance (MCMP) and Physician Group Practice (PGP) demonstration project participants have been issued and are a separate incentive program from the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative.
Reference: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI

FAQ #9543
Q. Will there be a 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) re-run for Medicare Advantage participants?

A. Yes. Those Medicare Advantage eligible professionals (EPs) who previously did not receive a bonus but are bonus eligible following the back-end system analysis and re-run of the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) data will potentially receive the 2007 re-run incentive.
Reference: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI
All publicly available information on the CMS Physician Quality Reporting Initiative can be found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI, on the CMS website.


The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host a national provider conference call on the 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). This toll-free call will take place from 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., EDT, on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) made the PQRI program permanent, but only authorized incentive payments through 2010. Eligible professionals who meet the criteria for satisfactory submission of quality measures data for services furnished during the reporting period, January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009, will earn an incentive payment of 2.0 percent of their total allowed charges for Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) covered professional services furnished during that same period. The 2009 PQRI consists of 153 quality measures and 7 measures groups.

The topics covered on this national provider call will include:

How to access the PQRI help desk;
Review of the incentive payments and feedback reports timeline; and
An update on the upcoming decisions registries for 2009.

Following this presentation, the lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of CMS PQRI subject matter experts.

Educational products are available on the PQRI dedicated web page located at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI, on the CMS website, in the Educational Resources section, section. Feel free to download the resources prior to the call so that you may ask questions of the CMS presenters.

Conference call details:

Date: June 17, 2009

Conference Title: 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative-National Provider Call

Time: 2:30 p.m. EDT

In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data. This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation. If you cannot attend the call, replay information is available below.

Registration will close at 2:30 p.m. EDT on June 16, 2009, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time.

To register for the call participants need to go to: http://www2.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/061709

Fill in all required data.

Verify your time zone is displayed correctly the drop down box.

Click "Register".

You will be taken to the “Thank you for registering” page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter. Note: Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation emails. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there.

For those of you who will be unable to attend, a transcript of the call will be available at least one week after the call at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri on the CMS website.

If you require services for the hearing impaired please send an email to: Medicare.TTT@PalmettoGBA.com.