The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will apply the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) automatic extreme and uncontrollable circumstances (EUC) policy to all individual Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians for the 2021 performance period. CMS also reopened the MIPS EUC application for the 2021 performance period for groups, virtual groups, and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Entities through March 31, 2022. The agency continues to offer such flexibilities to provide relief for clinicians responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). 

MIPS EUC applications citing COVID-19 as the triggering event can be submitted until Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET. Please note that due to the automatic EUC policy, individual clinicians do not need to apply. Additionally, group and virtual group applications received between the date applications reopened and March 31 won’t override previously submitted data.

For more information, please visit the Quality Payment Program’s COVID-19 Response page. You can also contact the Quality Payment Program at 1-866-288-8292 or QPP@cms.hhs.gov.

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