MSSP ACO QUALITY CHANGES FOR 2021 AND 2022
CMS HAS REVISED THESE REQUIREMENTS IN THE FINAL 2022 MPFS RULE. THIS RESOURCE WILL BE UPDATED TO REFLECT THESE CHANGES SHORTLY.
Executive Summary
Despite extensive advocacy efforts by NAACOS and others, CMS finalized major structural changes to the way MSSP ACOs are measured and assessed on quality starting in 2021 and in subsequent years. Fortunately, due to NAACOS advocacy, CMS delayed retiring the Web Interface reporting mechanism and measures for ACOs for one additional year; beginning with 2022 and subsequent performance years, CMS will no longer offer the Web Interface as a means of reporting quality data and instead will transition to electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) reporting and a new measure set included in the newly created Alternative Payment Model (APM) Performance Pathway (APP). CMS finalized moving forward with these changes to Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) quality assessments to better align quality measurement approaches with the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The changes included in the new APP structure are outlined in this resource. Notably, the changes include a departure from the current quality scoring approach for ACOs as well as how ACO quality scores contribute to ACO shared savings and loss rates. This resource outlines the criteria for ACOs in 2021 as well as in 2022 and subsequent years.