Incentive payments coming soon for APM qualifying participants

Clinicians who are "qualifying alternative payment model participants" (QPs) should receive their incentive payments soon. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that 2019 incentive payments began in September. QPs are clinicians who received enough payments or saw enough patients to meet the thresholds for an advanced alternative payment model (APM). QPs are eligible for a 5-percent, lum-sum bonus and exempt from the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting requirements.

The 2019 APM incentive payments are based on the clinician's QP status from the 2017 performance period. The amount of the incentive is equal to 5 percent of the estimated aggregate payment amounts for Medicare Part-B covered professional services furnished by the QP in the calendar year preceding the payment year (2018) across all Taxpayer Identification Number/National Provider Identifier (TIN/NPI) combinations associated with the clinician.

According to CMS, you will be able to verify your information through the Quality Payment Program (QPP) portal. CMS will provide the incentive amount and the billing NPI for both the NPI and the organization. Additional information can be found in the 2019 APM Incentive Payment Fact Sheet. You can contact the QPP Help Desk (866-288-8292) for additional assistance.

— Erin Solis, Manager for Practice and Payment at the American Academy of Family Physicians