In
this issue
Holiday
greetings from MHA
Happy holidays from the Minnesota Hospital Association! We
celebrate the hospital and health system staff, volunteers, advocates and
supporters who help make Minnesota the best place in the nation for health care
access, quality and outcomes. Thank you to the hospital care teams who dedicate
time away from their families to provide high-quality care to patients 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We wish you a happy and healthy
holiday season!
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MHA
accepts national award on behalf of hospitals, health systems
MHA was among
organizations honored on Dec. 13 at the 2016 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) Quality Conference, “Aligning for Innovation and Outcomes.” The
award recognized diligent work; authentic collaboration with patients,
clinicians and partners; and unprecedented national impact on patient safety in
all U.S. hospitals.
The efforts of MHA and Minnesota's hospitals and health systems alongside other
national, regional and state hospital associations, quality improvement
organizations and health system organizations have saved 87,000 lives,
prevented 2.1 million instances of patient harm and yielded $19.8 billion in
cost savings nationwide. Congratulations to Minnesota’s hospitals and health
systems on earning this national recognition!
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Health
Care Homes eligible for the CPIA performance category under MIPS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has
informed the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that Minnesota’s certified
Health Care Homes will receive full credit for the Clinical Practice
Improvement Activities (CPIA) performance category under the Merit-based
Incentive Payment System (MIPS). MIPS is a new Quality Payment Program (QPP)
track under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).
Eligible clinicians will attest to their own status in order to receive full
points in the CPIA category. More information on this process will be available
from MDH at a later date.
MACRA redesigns payment for Part B services in the Medicare program, with the
initial payment period beginning in 2019. MACRA eliminates the Sustainable
Growth Rate and combines several other programs (i.e. the Physician Quality
Reporting System, the Value-Based Payment Modifier and Meaningful Use) into the
new QPP. The 2019 payment changes and reporting will be based on data submitted
by clinicians in 2017. Clinicians will participate in one of two tracks in the
QPP: MIPS or Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APM).
MIPS evaluates clinicians in four performance categories: quality, resource
use, CPIAs and advancing care information. Points are assigned in each of the
categories and then combined into a composite performance score, which
determines whether a clinician receives a positive, negative or neutral
adjustment to Medicare Part B reimbursement. The initial payment adjustment,
for 2019, will be between plus or minus 4 percent; this percentage will
increase in subsequent years of the program. Participants in MIPS will also be
eligible to receive positive payment adjustments based on high levels of
performance.
The Advanced APM track offers a route to exemption from MIPS. Advanced APMs
require participants to make use of certified electronic health record
technology, have established payment based on quality measures comparable to
those in MIPS and bear a certain amount of financial risk. A list of current
payment models approved as Advanced APMs can be found on the CMS website. Providers who meet a certain
threshold of Medicare payments received through an Advanced APM are eligible to
receive Qualifying Participant (QP) status. QPs are exempt from MIPS reporting
requirements and receive an automatic plus 5 percent adjustment to their Part B
payments.
With questions, contact health.healthcarehomes@state.mn.us.
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Submit
a proposal to present at the 2017 Minnesota Rural Health Conference
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) office of Rural Health
and Primary Care is now accepting presentation proposals for the 2017 Minnesota
Rural Health Conference, entitled “Shaping Sustainable Solutions.” The
conference will be held June 19-20, 2017, at the Duluth Entertainment
Convention Center (DECC).
The conference will provide attendees the opportunity to:
- Discover approaches to improve
and integrate mental health access in rural communities
- Provide timely information on
making value real for rural
- Learn about supporting rural
populations with best practices from around the state
- Share community-based solutions
to address health disparities and inequities
- Develop and access a network of
colleagues, students and partners to support the rural workforce
Individuals interested in presenting a 60-minute breakout
session or facilitating a roundtable discussion should submit an online proposal. The deadline for submissions
is 4 p.m. on Dec. 21.
To learn more, visit the conference website.
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Health
care publications available from House Research
The nonpartisan Minnesota House of Representatives House
Research Department has updated publications on several health care programs.
Additional publications can be found online.
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Newsline
holiday schedule
Newsline will take a holiday break and will
return to its normal publishing schedule on Monday, Jan. 9.
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