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Rethinking the Merit-Based Payment Incentive System (MIPS)
In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and its predecessors, Meaningful Use and Promoting Interoperability (PI), have become integral components of the system. These programs were introduced to incentivize healthcare providers to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care while controlling costs. However, after having to deal with systems like these for the last 15 years working in healthcare, I think it’s high time to assess their impact and ask a critical question: Are MIPS and PI really serving the best interests of patients and healthcare providers?
MIPS and Meaningful Use: A Brief Overview
MIPS, introduced in 2015 under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), is a system that evaluates healthcare providers based on four categories: Quality, Cost, Improvement Activities, and Promoting Interoperability. Providers receive a score in each category, which ultimately determines their overall MIPS score, leading to either positive, neutral, or negative payment adjustments to Medicare reimbursements.
Meaningful Use, on the other hand, had its origins in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. This program aimed to encourage healthcare providers to…
