Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Plus: Use revised CMS-855R form starting May 1.

It’s likely crunch time at your practice as you finalize your 2019 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) submissions by the March 31 deadline. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be investigating 2020 measures options.

Now: The Quality Payment Program (QPP) website recently updated its “Explore Measures Tool” with 2020 options and requirements. The handy offering lets you browse measures in your specialty in the four MIPS categories — Cost, Improvement Activities, Quality, and Promoting Interoperability — tally a list of possibilities, and then download your choices for review.

In addition, the MIPS tool differentiates by category with documentation guidance, benchmarks, priorities, and more for 2020.

Prep your 2020 MIPS files with the tool at https://qpp.cms.gov/mips/explore-measures/quality-measures?py=2020#measures.

In other news…

If you’re getting ready to submit a Medicare reassignment of benefits application — also known as the CMS-855R form — you may want to check the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website or with your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for impending revisions.

Why: A revised version of the CMS-855R was expected in early February 2020 but has not been uploaded yet. Providers should continue to check the CMS forms’ site for the revision, a release from Part B MAC NGS Medicare indicates. MACs “will accept current and revised versions of the form through 4/30/2020. Starting 5/1/2020 you must use the revised form,” NGS says.

Review CMS forms at  www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms-List.

Details: There are two important form updates that physicians and non-physician practitioners (NPPs) should be aware of. According to NGS, providers can now “select Change of Reassignment Information as [a] submission reason” as well as have the “option to identify a secondary practice address.”

Reminder: If you need to reassign your right to bill Medicare and receive payments from CMS for either a portion or all of your administered services to beneficiaries or end a current reassignment of benefits, you must submit a CMS-855R form.

All providers should review their arrangements with Medicare and check in with their MACs for more information on enrollment, form changes, and more.

Resource: Review Medicare enrollment details at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/index.