- Now available: 2024 MIPS performance feedback and final scores
- House committee passes AMA-supported bill to extend Hospital-at-Home waiver
- White House announces new actions on direct-to-consumer drug advertising
- New, updated physician security risk assessment tool available for download
- From exam room to campaign trail: Physicians learn to run for office
- More articles in this issue
Now available: 2024 MIPS performance feedback and final scores
CMS has released Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance feedback and final scores for the 2024 performance year. Physicians can access their 2024 MIPS performance feedback through their Quality Payment Program (QPP) account. A physician’s 2024 final score determines the payment adjustment they will receive in 2026. CMS plans to release payment determinations in about a month.
If you believe there is an error in the calculation of your MIPS final score, you can request a targeted review now. CMS generally requires documentation to support a targeted review request, which varies by circumstance. A CMS representative will contact you about providing any specific documentation required. If the targeted review request is approved and results in a scoring change, CMS will update your final score and/or associated payment adjustment (if applicable), as soon as technically feasible. Please note that targeted review decisions are final and are not eligible for further review.
The targeted review period is open for approximately 60 days. Beginning with the 2024 performance period, targeted review opens with the release of final scores and will close 30 days after the release of MIPS payment adjustments. CMS will announce the release of MIPS payment adjustments through the QPP listserv in approximately one month.
How to request a targeted review
To access your MIPS final score and performance feedback and request a targeted review:
Sign in using your HARP credentials (ACO-MS credentials for Shared Savings Program ACOs); these are the same credentials that allowed you to submit your 2024 MIPS data.
Click “Targeted Review” on the left-hand navigation.
Targeted review resources
2024 Targeted Review User Guide (PDF) – Reviews the process for requesting a targeted review and examples for when you would or would not request a targeted review.
House committee passes AMA-supported bill to extend Hospital-at-Home waiver
Bipartisan legislation providing a long-term extension of the flexibilities permitting the Acute Hospital Care at Home program received a major boost following a Sept. 17 legislative mark-up. More specifically, the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously passed the AMA-supported H.R. 4313, the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act (PDF), which would continue these crucial flexibilities that were initially enacted during the COVID-19 public health emergency for an additional five years through 2030. Absent congressional action, the Hospital-at-Home program is set to expire on Oct. 1, 2025.
In addition to extending the program, H.R. 4313 mandates the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conduct a study and final report on the effectiveness of the Hospital-at-Home program. This analysis will help HHS better understand the criteria established by different hospitals to determine which individuals are eligible for the program. Furthermore, the study and report seek to compare and contrast a multitude of metrics among both participating and non-participating hospitals including the quality of care furnished to patients with similar conditions (e.g., outcomes, length of stay, mortality and infection rates, nursing staff ratios, transfers to and from the home to the hospital and vice versa), the types of clinical conditions treated, costs, the quantity, mix and intensity of services provided, and patient socioeconomic information. The study and final report are required to be delivered to the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance no later than Sept. 30, 2028.
AMA sent a letter of support (PDF) to the chief sponsors of this bipartisan legislation, specifically Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), and Representative Dwight Evans (D-PA) in Aug. 2025. A Senate companion bill, S. 2237, that is led by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is also supported (PDF) by the AMA.
One other notable bill that passed the Ways and Means Committee during the same mark-up is H.R. 5347, the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act (PDF), bipartisan legislation from Reps. Buchanan and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) that would require CMS to retain existing options for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to submit clinical quality measures as qualifying Alternative Payment Models established under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) through 2029. In addition, the bill mandates a CMS demonstration on the forthcoming transition to digital quality measures be established for select ACOs.
White House announces new actions on direct-to-consumer drug advertising
Last week, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum directing the HHS secretary and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take new actions to regulate direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising. The memorandum directs HHS to mandate more significant and detailed disclosures from drug manufacturers regarding any safety risks associated with the drug being advertised. The memorandum further directs FDA, who is tasked with regulated DTC drug advertising, to take enforcement action against any advertising it finds misleading.
Following the issuance of the memorandum, HHS announced that FDA’s enforcement would be “aggressive” and that the agency would move to close regulatory loopholes that have “allowed companies to withhold vital safety information.” The Department also announced that enforcement actions would span all platforms including digital platforms and that enforcement actions would include individuals such as influencers and on AI-generated content and chatbot interactions. AMA will be monitoring HHS and FDA’s action in this space. AMA policy has long opposed DTC drug advertising.
New, updated physician security risk assessment tool available for download
The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC), in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), developed an updated downloadable Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool to help guide small and medium-sized physician practices through conducting a risk assessment of their organizations.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule requires that covered entities and business associates conduct a risk assessment to ensure compliance with HIPAA’s administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. It is important to emphasize that covered entities are required to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all electronic protected health information (ePHI) that they create, receive, maintain or transmit. Organizations can use information from their assessments to inform decisions regarding security measure implementation and determine which policies and procedures may need to be created or improved to protect ePHI.
The updated tool is a desktop application that walks users through the security risk assessment process using a simple, wizard-based approach. There are multiple-choice questions focused on threat and vulnerability assessments and asset and vendor management, as well as references and additional guidance given throughout the course of the assessment.
From exam room to campaign trail: Physicians learn to run for office
A tight race in a swing district was once again the backdrop for AMPAC’s annual Campaign School on Sept. 11-14 at the AMA offices in Washington, DC. Twenty-two participants from across the country worked on the congressional “campaigns” of either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a simulated campaign. The participants included physicians, physician spouses, residents, medical students and state medical society staff.
Over the course of the program, participants heard from political experts on both sides of the aisle on topics including campaign strategy, vote targeting, social media, paid advertising, public speaking and more. Taking what they learned in these sessions, participants then applied what they learned in real-life breakout exercises where they had to work together as a team to create radio ads, respond to a simulated campaign crisis and write and deliver a speech in support of their candidate.
Participants also heard from U.S. Senator, and AMPAC Campaign School alumnus, John Barrasso, MD (R-WY) about his path to public service; what impact running for office may have on you, your family and practice; and why it is so important to have more physicians engaged in the political process. He reminded participants that campaigns require careful planning and a willingness to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, while noting that plenty of candidates with great campaign plans still lose elections, but no candidate ever got elected without a great plan.
The Campaign School is one of AMPAC’s two annual programs, along with the Candidate Workshop, and is open to AMA member physicians, residents, students, spouses and state medical society staff who are interested in becoming more involved in the political process—whether that means a run for office themselves or wanting to learn the skills to be a valuable asset to the campaign of a champion of medicine.
Dates for the 2026 Candidate Workshop and Campaign School have not been finalized, but please visit www.ampaconline.org to learn more about these programs.
More articles in this issue
- Sept. 19, 2025: Advocacy Update spotlight on extension of enhanced premium tax credits
- Sept. 19, 2025: Medicare Payment Reform Advocacy Update
- Sept. 19, 2025: State Advocacy Update
