§ 414.1450 - APM incentive payment.

§ 414.1450 APM incentive payment.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 79539, Nov. 16, 2023.

(a) In general.

(1) CMS makes a lump sum payment to QPs in the amount described in paragraph (b) of this section in the manner described in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section.

(i) For payment years 2019 through 2025, CMS makes a lump sum payment to QPs in the amount described in paragraph (b) of this section in the manner described in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section.

(ii) [Reserved]

(2) CMS provides notice of the amount of the APM Incentive Payment to QPs as soon as practicable following the calculation and validation of the APM Incentive Payment amount, but in any event no later than 1 year after the incentive payment base period.

(b) APM Incentive Payment amount.

(1) The For payment years 2019 through 2024, the amount of the APM Incentive Payment is equal to 5 percent or, with respect to payment year 2025, 3.5 percent of the estimated aggregate payments for covered professional services as defined in section 1848(k)(3)(A) of the Act furnished during the calendar year immediately preceding the payment year. CMS uses the paid amounts on claims for covered professional services to calculate the estimated aggregate payments on which CMS will calculate the APM Incentive Payment.

(2) The estimated aggregate payment amount for covered professional services includes all such payments to any and all of the TIN/NPI combinations associated with the NPI of the QP.

(3) In calculating the estimated aggregate payment amount for a QP, CMS uses claims submitted with dates of service from January 1 through December 31 of the incentive payment base period, and processing dates of January 1 of the base period through March 31 of the subsequent payment year.

(4) The payment adjustment amounts, negative or positive, as described in sections 1848(m), (o), (p), and (q) of the Act are not included in calculating the APM Incentive Payment amount.

(5) Incentive payments made to eligible clinicians under sections 1833(m), (x), and (y) of the Act are not included in calculating the APM Incentive Payment amount.

(6) Financial risk payments such as shared savings payments or net reconciliation payments are excluded from the amount of covered professional services in calculating the APM Incentive Payment amount.

(7) Supplemental service payments in the amount of covered professional services are included in calculating the APM Incentive Payment amount according to this paragraph (b). Supplemental service payments are included in the amount of covered professional services when calculating the APM Incentive Payment amount when the supplemental service payment meets the following four criteria:

(i) Is payment for services that constitute physicians services authorized under section 1832(a) and defined under section 1861(s) of the Act.

(ii) Is made for only Part B services under the criterion in paragraph (b)(9)(i) of this section.

(iii) Is directly attributable to services furnished to an individual beneficiary.

(iv) Is directly attributable to an eligible clinician, including an eligible clinician that is a group of individual eligible clinicians.

(8) For payment amounts that are affected by a cash flow mechanism, the payment amounts that would have occurred if the cash flow mechanism were not in place are used in calculating the APM Incentive Payment amount.

(c) APM Incentive Payment recipient. CMS will pay the APM Incentive Payment amount for a payment year to a solvent TIN or TINs associated with the QP, identified based on Medicare Part B claims submitted for covered professional services during the base period or payment year, according to this section. If no TIN or TINs with which the QP has an association can be identified at a step, CMS will move to the next and successive steps listed in paragraphs (c)(1) through (8) of this section until CMS identifies a TIN or TINs with which the QP is associated, and to which CMS will make the APM Incentive Payment. If more than one TIN is identified at a step, the payment will be proportionately divided among the TINs according to the relative total paid amounts for Part B covered professional services paid to each TIN for services provided during the base year.

(1) Any TIN associated with the QP that, during the QP Performance Period, is associated with an APM Entity through which the eligible clinician achieved QP status;

(2) Any TIN associated with the QP that, during the APM Incentive Payment base period, is associated with an APM Entity through which the eligible clinician achieved QP status;

(3) Any TIN associated with the QP that, during the APM Incentive Payment base period, is associated with an APM Entity participating in an Advanced APM through which the eligible clinician had achieved QP status;

(4) Any TIN associated with the QP that, during the APM Incentive Payment base period, participated in an APM Entity in an Advanced APM;

(5) Any TIN associated with the QP that, during the APM Incentive Payment base period, participated with an APM Entity in any track of the APM through which the eligible clinician achieved QP status;

(6) Any TIN associated with the QP that, during the APM Incentive Payment base period, participated with an APM Entity in an APM other than an Advanced APM;

(7) Any TIN associated with the QP that submitted a claim for covered professional services furnished by the QP during the APM Incentive Payment base period, even if such TIN has no relationship to any APM Entity or APM; then

(8) If we have not identified any TIN associated with the QP to which we can make the APM Incentive Payment, we will attempt to contact the QP via a public notice to request their Medicare payment information. The QPs identified in the public notice, or any other eligible clinicians who believe that they are entitled to an APM Incentive Payment must then notify CMS of their claim as directed in the public notice by September 1 of the payment year, or 60 days after CMS announces that initial payments for the year have been made, whichever is later. After that time, any claims by a QP to an APM Incentive Payment will be forfeited for such payment year.

(d) Timing of the APM Incentive Payment. APM Incentive Payments made under this section are made as soon as practicable following the calculation and validation of the APM Incentive Payment amount, but in any event no later than 1 year after the incentive payment base period.

(e) Treatment of APM Incentive Payment amount in APMs.

(1) APM Incentive Payments made under this section are not included in determining actual expenditures under an APM.

(2) APM Incentive Payments made under this section are not included in calculations for the purposes of rebasing benchmarks in an APM.

(f) Treatment of APM Incentive Payment for other Medicare incentive payments and payment adjustments. APM Incentive Payments made under this section will not be included in determining the amount of incentive payment made to eligible clinicians under section 1833(m), (x), and (y) of the Act.

[81 FR 77537, Nov. 4, 2016, as amended at 85 FR 85035, Dec. 28, 2020; 86 FR 65681, Nov. 19, 2021; 87 FR 70230, Nov. 18, 2022; 88 FR 79539, Nov. 16, 2023]