• 2026 MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) Registration Now Open  

• 2026 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Survey (CAHPS) for MIPS Survey Registration Now Open  

• Have you submitted your 2025 Performance Year (PY) Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) data through the QPP website? 

• Check Preliminary 2026 MIPS Eligibility Status 

• Medicare Part B Claims Measure Spotlight: Preventive Care and Screening: Tobacco Use Measure (Quality ID 226) 

• Collaborating for Excellence: Helps Physician Practices and Critical Access Hospitals Elevate Patient Care 

• Resources for Small Practices 

• We Want to Hear from You 

Groups, virtual groups, subgroups, and APM Entities with 2 or more clinicians (including at least  

1 MIPS eligible clinician) can register to administer the CAHPS for MIPS Survey for Traditional MIPS, APM Performance Pathway (APP), or MVPs reporting.    

Who doesn’t need to register?   

• Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)   

• These ACOs are required to report through the APP so they’re automatically registered for the CAHPS for MIPS Survey, which is required under the APP.   

• These ACOs don’t need to register but will still need to hire a CMS-approved vendor to administer the CAHPS for MIPS Survey.   

Who must register?  

• Groups and APM Entities (other than Shared Savings Program ACOs) that choose to report through the APP must register because the CAHPS for MIPS Survey is a required measure under the APP.  

Who can register?   

• Groups, virtual groups, and APM Entities that intend to administer the CAHPS for MIPS Survey as 1 of their 6 quality measures for reporting traditional MIPS   

• Groups, subgroups, and APM Entities that are registered to report the following MVPs and that intend to administer the CAHPS for MIPS Survey as 1 of their 4 quality measures. 

How to Register   

Groups, virtual groups, and APM Entities will register on the QPP website. You’ll need to have the Security Official role to register your organization. Please refer to the QPP Access User Guide (ZIP, 5MB) for information about obtaining a Security Official role for your organization.   

You must register by 8 p.m. ET on June 30, 2026.    

Additional Resource  

• 2026 CAHPS for MIPS Survey Registration Guide (PDF, 1MB) 

The QPP Service Center frequently receives inquiries about the Preventive Care and Screening: Tobacco Use: Screening and Cessation Intervention Quality Measure (Quality ID 226) from small practices that reported the measure via Medicare Part B claims.  

This measure has 3 submission criteria, and we’ve found that practices have requested help understanding which criteria are used for evaluation, when the measure will count for scoring, and how to report the measure’s quality data codes (QDCs) correctly.  

How we evaluate the measure for MIPS reporting:   

1. We evaluate Submission Criterion 1 for data completeness and case minimum. 
2. We evaluate Submission Criterion 2 for scoring; Submission Criterion 2 is a subset of the population reported for Submission Criterion 1. 
3. We don’t evaluate Submission Criterion 3 for scoring purposes. While encouraged, it isn’t required for small practices reporting this measure by Medicare Part B claims; however, it is included in the data publicly reported in downloadable files at data.cms.gov. (Submission Criterion 3 is a comprehensive look at overall tobacco screening and cessation intervention.)   

For this measure to appear in your performance feedback:  

• You must have a denominator-eligible population for Submission Criterion 2 (at least 1 patient you screened for tobacco use during the measurement period must have been identified as a tobacco user when you reported Submission Criterion 1).  AND  

• You must report at least 1 QDC for Submission Criterion 2. 

If none of your patients are smokers, you should look for an alternative measure to report because non-smokers aren’t evaluated for performance or scoring in Submission Criterion 2. 

Next Steps for Clinicians Reporting Quality ID 226 through Medicare Part B Claims:  

• Review Appendix G (newly added) in the 2026 Part B Claims Quality Measure Reporting Quick Start Guide (PDF, 2MB) to learn more about reporting Quality ID 226 through Medicare Part B claims, including a measure overview along with detailed reporting and scoring examples. 

• Review your practice’s workflows