§414.1380. Scoring.
42 C.F.R. § 414.1380
(2) The following measures are excluded from a MIPS eligible clinician's total measure achievement points and total available measure achievement points:
(i) Each submitted CMS Web Interface-based measure that meets the data completeness requirement, but does not have a benchmark or meet the case minimum requirement, or is redesignated as pay-for-reporting for all Shared Savings Program accountable care organizations by the Shared Savings Program; and
(ii) Each administrative claims-based measure that does not have a benchmark or meet the case minimum requirement.
(3) Beginning with the CY 2022 performance period/2024 MIPS payment year, MIPS eligible clinicians receive 7 measure achievement points for each submitted measure in its first year in MIPS and 5 measure achievement points for each submitted measure in its second year in MIPS that meets the data completeness requirement, but does not have a benchmark or meet the case minimum requirement.
(i) For the 2019 MIPS payment year, MIPS eligible clinicians receive 3 measure achievement points;
(ii) For the 2020 and 2021 MIPS payment years, MIPS eligible clinicians other than small practices receive 1 measure achievement point, and small practices receive 3 measure achievement points; and
(iii) Beginning with the 2022 MIPS payment year, MIPS eligible clinicians other than small practices receive zero measure achievement points, and small practices receive 3 measure achievement points.
(2) MIPS eligible clinicians receive zero measure achievement points for each submitted CMS Web Interface-based measure that does not meet the data completeness requirement.
(2) Beginning with the CY 2025 performance period/2027 MIPS payment year, for each administrative claims-based quality measure, CMS determines 10 benchmark ranges based on the median performance rate of all MIPS eligible clinicians scored on the measure, plus or minus standard deviations.
(i) CMS awards achievement points based on which benchmark range a MIPS eligible clinician's performance rate for an administrative claims-based quality measure corresponds; and
(ii) CMS awards achievement points equivalent to 10 percent of the performance threshold for a MIPS eligible clinician whose performance rate is equal to the median performance for all MIPS eligible clinicians scored on the measure.
(1) Limitations. (i) For the 2019 through 2023 MIPS payment years, the total measure bonus points for measures submitted with end-to-end electronic reporting cannot exceed 10 percent of the total available measure achievement points.
(ii) Beginning with the 2021 MIPS payment year, MIPS eligible clinicians that collect data in accordance with § 414.1325 on a single measure via multiple collection types receive measure bonus points only once.
(iii) Beginning in the 2024 MIPS payment year, MIPS eligible clinicians will no longer receive measure bonus for submitting using end-to-end electronic reporting.
(1) Data must be comparable to meet the requirement of data sufficiency which means that the quality performance category achievement percent score is available for the current performance period and the previous performance period and quality performance category achievement percent scores can be compared.
(2) Quality performance category achievement percent scores are comparable when submissions are received from the same identifier for two consecutive performance periods.
(3) If the identifier is not the same for two consecutive performance periods, then for individual submissions, the comparable quality performance category achievement percent score is the highest available quality performance category achievement percent score associated with the final score from the prior performance period that will be used for payment for the individual. For group, virtual group, and APM Entity submissions, the comparable quality performance category achievement percent score is the average of the quality performance category achievement percent score associated with the final score from the prior performance period that will be used for payment for each of the individuals in the group.
(4) Improvement scoring is not available for clinicians who were scored under facility-based measurement in the performance period immediately prior to the current MIPS performance period.
(1) The improvement percent score is awarded based on the rate of increase in the quality performance category achievement percent score of MIPS eligible clinicians from the previous performance period to the current performance period.
(2) An improvement percent score is calculated by dividing the increase in the quality performance category achievement percent score from the prior performance period to the current performance period by the prior performance period quality performance category achievement percent score multiplied by 10 percent.
(3) An improvement percent score cannot be lower than zero percentage points.
(4) Beginning with the CY 2018 performance period/2020 MIPS payment year, we will assume a quality performance category achievement percent score of 30 percent if a MIPS eligible clinician earned a quality performance category score less than or equal to 30 percent in the previous year.
(5) The improvement percent score is zero if the MIPS eligible clinician did not fully participate in the quality performance category for the current performance period.
(2) Informational-only feedback period means a 2-year period beginning with the first day of the first performance period and ending with the final day of the second performance period for the two applicable MIPS payment years for which CMS initially has specified the new cost measure.
(1) Have a personal physician/clinician in a team-based practice.
(2) Have a whole-person orientation.
(3) Provide coordination or integrated care.
(4) Focus on quality and safety.
(5) Provide enhanced access.
(1) A bonus score of 5 percentage points for reporting to one or more additional public health agencies or clinical data registries.
(2) A bonus score of 10 percentage points for attesting to completing one or more improvement activities specified by CMS using CEHRT.
(3) For the 2020 MIPS payment year, a bonus score of 10 percentage points for submitting data for the measures for the base score and the performance score generated solely from CEHRT as defined in § 414.1305 for 2019 and subsequent years.
(2) For the 2023 performance period/2025 MIPS payment year and subsequent years, each optional measure is worth 5 bonus points, as specified by CMS.
(3) Beginning with the CY 2026 performance period/2028 MIPS payment years, the total number of bonus points available to be earned when reporting one bonus measure, more than one bonus measure, or all bonus measures is a total of 5 bonus points.
(1) For the quality performance category, CMS cannot calculate a score for the MIPS eligible clinician because there is not at least one quality measure applicable and available to the clinician.
(2) For the cost performance category, CMS cannot reliably calculate a score for the cost measures that adequately captures and reflects the performance of the MIPS eligible clinician.
(3) Beginning with the 2021 MIPS payment year, for the quality, cost, improvement activities, and Promoting Interoperability performance categories, the MIPS eligible clinician joins an existing practice during the final 3 months of the performance period year that is not participating in MIPS as a group or joins a practice that is newly formed during the final 3 months of the performance period year.
(4) For the Promoting Interoperability performance category:
(i) For the 2021 through 2025 MIPS payment years, the MIPS eligible clinician is a physical therapist, occupational therapist, clinical psychologist, qualified audiologist, qualified speech-language pathologist, or a registered dietitian or nutrition professional. In the event that a MIPS eligible clinician submits data for the Promoting Interoperability performance category, the scoring weight specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be applied and its weight will not be redistributed.
(ii) For the 2019 through 2024 MIPS payment years, the MIPS eligible clinician is a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, clinical nurse specialist, or certified registered nurse anesthetist. In the event that a MIPS eligible clinician submits data for the Promoting Interoperability performance category, the scoring weight specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be applied and its weight will not be redistributed.
(iii) For the 2024 through 2026 MIPS payment years, the MIPS eligible clinician is a clinical social worker. In the event that a MIPS eligible clinician submits data for the Promoting Interoperability performance category, the scoring weight specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be applied and its weight will not be distributed.
(5) [Reserved]
(6) Beginning with the 2020 MIPS payment year, for the quality, cost, and improvement activities performance categories, the MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that they were subject to extreme and uncontrollable circumstances that prevented the clinician from collecting information that the clinician would submit for a performance category or submitting information that would be used to score a performance category for an extended period of time. Beginning with the 2021 MIPS payment year, in the event that a MIPS eligible clinician submits data for the quality, cost, or improvement activities performance categories, the scoring weight specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be applied and its weight will not be redistributed, unless an exception applies. Exception: for the 2021 MIPS payment year only, if a MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that they have been adversely affected by the Public Health Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic and also submits data for the quality, cost, or improvement activities performance categories, the preceding sentence will not apply.
(7) For the 2019 MIPS payment year, for the quality and improvement activities performance categories, the MIPS eligible clinician was located in an area affected by extreme and uncontrollable circumstances as identified by CMS. In the event that a MIPS eligible clinician submits data for a performance category, the scoring weight specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be applied and its weight will not be redistributed.
(8) Beginning with the 2020 MIPS payment year, for the quality, cost, and improvement activities performance categories, the MIPS eligible clinician was located in an area affected by extreme and uncontrollable circumstances as identified by CMS. In the event that a MIPS eligible clinician submits data for the quality or improvement activities performance categories, the scoring weight specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be applied and its weight will not be redistributed.
(9) Beginning with the 2020 MIPS payment year, for the quality, cost, and improvement activities performance categories, CMS determines, based on information known to the agency prior to the beginning of the relevant MIPS payment year, that data for a MIPS eligible clinician are inaccurate, unusable or otherwise compromised due to circumstances outside of the control of the clinician and its agents.
(10) Beginning with the 2026 MIPS payment year, for the quality and improvement activities performance categories, CMS determines, based on documentation provided to the agency on or before November 1st of the year preceding the relevant MIPS payment year, that data for a MIPS eligible clinician are inaccessible or unable to be submitted due to circumstances outside of the control of the clinician because the MIPS eligible clinician delegated submission of the data to their third party intermediary, evidenced by a written agreement between the MIPS eligible clinician and third party intermediary, and the third party intermediary did not submit the data for the performance category(ies) on behalf of the MIPS eligible clinician in accordance with applicable deadlines. To determine whether to apply reweighting to the affected performance category(ies), CMS will consider: whether the MIPS eligible clinician knew or had reason to know of the issue with its third party intermediary's submission of the clinician's data for the performance category(ies); whether the MIPS eligible clinician took reasonable efforts to correct the issue; and whether the issue between the MIPS eligible clinician and their third party intermediary caused no data to be submitted for the performance category(ies) in accordance with applicable deadlines.
(1) The MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that they lacked sufficient internet access during the performance period, and insurmountable barriers prevented the clinician from obtaining sufficient internet access.
(2) The MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that they were subject to extreme and uncontrollable circumstances that caused their CEHRT to be unavailable.
(3) The MIPS eligible clinician was located in an area affected by extreme and uncontrollable circumstances as identified by CMS.
(4) The MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that 50 percent or more of their outpatient encounters occurred in practice locations where they had no control over the availability of CEHRT.
(5) The MIPS eligible clinician is a non-patient facing MIPS eligible clinician as defined in § 414.1305.
(6) The MIPS eligible clinician is a hospital-based MIPS eligible clinician as defined in § 414.1305.
(7) The MIPS eligible clinician is an ASC-based MIPS eligible clinician as defined in § 414.1305.
(8) Beginning with the 2020 MIPS payment year, the MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that their CEHRT was decertified either during the performance period for the MIPS payment year or during the calendar year preceding the performance period for the MIPS payment year, and the MIPS eligible clinician made a good faith effort to adopt and implement another CEHRT in advance of the performance period. In no case may a MIPS eligible clinician be granted this exception for more than 5 years.
(9) For the 2020 MIPS payment year through the 2023 MIPS payment year the MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that they are in a small practice as defined in § 414.1305, and overwhelming barriers prevent them from complying with the requirements for the Promoting Interoperability performance category. Beginning with the 2024 MIPS payment year the MIPS eligible clinician is in a small practice as defined in § 414.1305.
(10) Beginning with the 2020 MIPS payment year, CMS determines, based on information known to the agency prior to the beginning of the relevant MIPS payment year, that data for a MIPS eligible clinician are inaccurate, unusable or otherwise compromised due to circumstances outside of the control of the clinician and its agents.
(11) For the 2021 MIPS payment year only, the MIPS eligible clinician demonstrates through an application submitted to CMS that they have been adversely affected by the Public Health Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.
(12) Beginning with the 2026 MIPS payment year, CMS determines, based on documentation provided to the agency on or before November 1st of the year preceding the relevant MIPS payment year, that data for a MIPS eligible clinician are inaccessible or unable to be submitted due to circumstances outside of the control of the clinician because the MIPS eligible clinician delegated submission of the data to their third party intermediary, evidenced by a written agreement between the MIPS eligible clinician and third party intermediary, and the third party intermediary did not submit the data for the performance category on behalf of the MIPS eligible clinician in accordance with applicable deadlines. To determine whether to apply reweighting to the Promoting Interoperability performance category, CMS will consider: whether the MIPS eligible clinician knew or had reason to know of the issue with its third party intermediary's submission of the clinician's data for the performance category; whether the MIPS eligible clinician took reasonable efforts to correct the issue; and whether the issue between the MIPS eligible clinician and their third party intermediary caused no data to be submitted for the performance category in accordance with applicable deadlines.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[83 FR 60081, Nov. 23, 2018, as amended at 84 FR 63196, Nov. 15, 2019; 85 FR 19287, Apr. 6, 2020; 85 FR 85031, Dec. 28, 2020; 86 FR 65673, Nov. 19, 2021; 86 FR 73159, Dec. 27, 2021; 87 FR 7747, Feb. 10, 2022; 87 FR 70228, Nov. 18, 2022; 88 FR 15921, Mar. 15, 2023; 88 FR 79535, Nov. 16, 2023; 89 FR 98562, Dec. 9, 2024; 90 FR 50010, Nov. 5, 2025; 91 FR 12079, Mar. 12, 2026]
Source
Source: 81 FR 77537, Nov. 4, 2016, unless otherwise noted.
Authority
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1302, 1395hh, and 1395rr(b)(l).
Source
Source: 55 FR 23441, June 8, 1990, unless otherwise noted.
Amendments
[83 FR 60081, Nov. 23, 2018, as amended at 84 FR 63196, Nov. 15, 2019; 85 FR 19287, Apr. 6, 2020; 85 FR 85031, Dec. 28, 2020; 86 FR 65673, Nov. 19, 2021; 86 FR 73159, Dec. 27, 2021; 87 FR 7747, Feb. 10, 2022; 87 FR 70228, Nov. 18, 2022; 88 FR 15921, Mar. 15, 2023; 88 FR 79535, Nov. 16, 2023; 89 FR 98562, Dec. 9, 2024; 90 FR 50010, Nov. 5, 2025; 91 FR 12079, Mar. 12, 2026]