Quality Payment Program Small Practices Newsletter: January 2025
Quality Payment Program Small Practices Newsletter:
January 2025
The Quality Payment Program (QPP) Small Practices Newsletter is a monthly resource that provides small practices (15 or fewer clinicians) with program updates, upcoming QPP milestones, and resources to support their continued participation and success in QPP. We send this newsletter on the second Tuesday of each month.
Please share this newsletter with your fellow clinicians and practice staff and encourage them to sign up to receive this monthly resource.
At-a-Glance: Required and Recommended Activities for Successful Participation in QPP
Each month, we share required and recommended activities for small practices to support their successful participation in QPP. The activities follow a rolling quarter approach, letting you see activities for the previous month, the current month, and the following month.
The data submission window for the 2024 performance year is now open. You can submit data for the 2024 performance year until the submission window closes at 8 p.m. ET onMarch 31, 2025.
Submit your data for the 2024 performance year or review the data reported on your behalf by a third party. (You can’t correct errors with your data after the submission period, so it’s important to make sure the data submitted on your behalf is accurate.)
2024 JSON Template and Instructions (ZIP, 856KB): This resource provides instructions for using the associated QPP JSON templates to submit the quality data you’ve collected for MIPS clinical quality measures.
2024 APP Data Submission Guide (PDF, 3MB): This resource provides information and screenshots for submitting your Alternative Payment Model (APM) Performance Pathway (APP) data.
MIPS Data Submission Process Demonstration (VIDEO): This demonstration video reviews the MIPS data submission process including the 3 MIPS reporting options, how to upload a file, how to review previously submitted data, and how to delete data.
How to Sign in to the QPP Data Submission System
To sign in and submit data, clinicians will need a HARP account and a QPP role. For help enrolling with HARP, please refer to “Step 1. Register for a HARP Account” in the QPP Access User Guide (ZIP, 4MB). For help obtaining a QPP role, please refer to “Step 2a. Connect to an Organization” in the QPP Access User Guide (ZIP, 4MB).
CMS encourages all users with an existing HARP account to sign in to the QPP website now to ensure they don’t lose access.
Note: Clinicians who are unsure about their eligibility to participate in MIPS for the 2024 performance year can check their final eligibility status using the QPP Participation Status Tool. Clinicians and groups who are opt-in eligible will need to make an election to opt in or voluntarily report before they can submit data. (No election is required for opt-in eligible clinicians and groups that don’t want to participate in MIPS.) Review the 2024 MIPS Eligibility & Participation Quick Start Guide (PDF, 1MB) for more information about eligibility.
Reminder: Preliminary Scoring No Longer Available During Submission
As a reminder, CMS eliminated the preliminary score and preliminary category-level scores from submission. We’ll release 2024 MIPS final scores in mid-June 2025.
Submit Your Data Early
We encourage you to submit your 2024 MIPS performance period data early during the submission period. Early submission will allow you plenty of time for QPP Service Center assistance if needed.
Upcoming QPP Service Center Hold Times
The QPP Service Center is projecting an increase in volume between now and the close of the data submission window for the 2024 performance year on March 31, 2025, which could result in longer wait times.
CMS recommends the following to minimize wait times and ensure successful 2024 data submission:
You can schedule a call with a member of the QPP Service Center team by clicking on Schedule a Call.
You can also submit a ticket for support by clicking on Request Support.
Live Chat: CCSQ Support Central Chat and Resource Line (CARL)
The Support Central Chat feature, CARL, is another option to use for assistance. To contact the Service Center via Chat, go to the CCSQ Support Central page and click on the Chat icon in the lower right area:
Use One Method to Report Issues
Due to the anticipated increase in volume at the QPP Service Center and to minimize a backlog, please use only one method of reporting for the same issue (email, phone, or CCSQ Support Central).
Note: Cases are processed in the order in which they’re received, regardless of how the Service Center was contacted. Please allow time for processing.
*Please note: Some of these resources are displaying incorrect posting dates on the QPP Resource Library. CMS is working to resolve the issue to reflect the correct dates when resources are posted, but all files are the most recent versions.
This consolidated guide provides a high-level overview of MIPS requirements for small practices, identifies key policy updates for 2025, and includes a printable checklist for submitting 2025 data.
The Explore Measures & Activities Tool on the QPP website will soon be updated for the 2025 performance year. The 2025 Quality Historical Benchmarks will also be available on the benchmarks page on the QPP website in February.
In August 2024, each MIPS eligible clinician received a 2023 MIPS final score and associated payment adjustment factor(s) as part of their 2023 MIPS performance feedback, available on the QPP website.
2025 MIPS payment adjustments, based on each MIPS eligible clinician’s 2023 MIPS final score, will be applied to payments made for Part B-covered professional services payable under the Physician Fee Schedule from January 1 to December 31, 2025. Payment adjustments are determined by the final score associated with a clinician’s Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)/National Provider Identifier (NPI) combination.
MIPS eligible clinicians, identified by TIN/NPI combination for the 2023 performance year, will receive a positive, neutral, or negative MIPS payment adjustment in 2025 if they:
Were a clinician type that was included in MIPS;
Enrolled in Medicare prior to January 1, 2023;
Weren’t a Qualifying Alternative Payment Model (APM) Participant (QP);
Were a Partial Qualifying APM Participant (Partial QP) that elected to participate in MIPS as a MIPS eligible clinician; and
Met one of the following criteria:
Individually exceeded the low-volume threshold,
Were in a practice that exceeded the low-volume threshold at the group level and submitted group or APM Entity data, or
You can now review the MVP candidates available for public feedback for a 45-day period. We’ll accept and review feedback on these MVP candidates until 11:59 p.m. ET on January 24, 2025. Feedback should be submitted to PIMMSMVPSupport@gdit.com and will be posted on the QPP website following the close of the 45-day period.
Share your feedback on what you like most about the Small Practices Newsletter, what can be improved, and/or what topics you would like to see addressed. Please include “Small Practices Newsletter” in the email subject line.
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