Quality Payment Program Small Practices Newsletter: September 2026
Quality Payment Program Small Practices Newsletter: September 2026
The Quality Payment Program (QPP) Small Practices Newsletter is a monthly resource that provides small practices (15 or fewer clinicians) with program updates, upcoming QPP milestones, and resources to support their continued participation and success in QPP, including the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The newsletter is disseminated on the second Tuesday of each month, when feasible.
Please share this newsletter with your fellow clinicians and practice staff and encourage them to signup to receive this monthly resource.
At-a-Glance: Required and Recommended Activities for Successful Participation in QPP
Each month, we share required and recommended activities for small practices to support their successful participation in QPP. The activities follow a rolling quarter approach, letting you see activities for the previous month, the current month, and the following month.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the CY 2027 Medicare PFS Proposed Rule, which includes proposed policies for QPP. The proposed rule includes proposals for MIPS and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs), and includes several Requests for Information (RFIs).
Key QPP proposals that are applicable to small practices include:
Sunsetting the traditional MIPS reporting option after the 2028 performance year.
Introducing 3 new MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) for the 2027 performance year related to diabetic disease, hypertension, and hospitalists, and modifying all 27 previously finalized MVPs.
Learn more about the QPP proposals by reviewing the following resources:
Overview of the 2027 Proposed Rule for the QPP (LINK) – This webinar provides an overview of proposed policies for the 2027 performance year of the QPP. CMS subject matter experts discuss proposed policy changes for traditional MIPS, MVPs, the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and APMs.
MVP Transition Toolkit for Small Practices (ZIP, 1MB) – This new resource provides guidance for small practices participating in MIPS as they transition from traditional MIPS to MVP reporting. It includes a tool to help identify applicable MVPs based on the measures you currently report.
Regular mail –Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS‑1848‑P, P.O. Box 8016, Baltimore, MD 21244‑8016. Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received prior to the end of the comment period.
Express or overnight mail – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS‑1848‑P, Mail Stop C4‑26‑05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244‑1850.
Please note:Faxtransmissions won’t be accepted.
When commenting, refer to file code: CMS‑1848‑P.
The 60-day comment period for the CY 2027PFS Proposed Rule is open until September14,2026.
On July 13, 2026, CMS updated its QPP Participation Status Tool based on the first snapshot of Alternative Payment Model (APM) data. The first snapshot includes data from Medicare Part B claims with dates of service between January 1, 2026, and March 31, 2026.
CMS anticipates publishing the MIPS final scores for the 2025 performance year in October. At that time, the Targeted Review period will open, allowing you to request a review if needed. MIPS payment adjustments for the 2027 payment year will be released approximately one month after the release of final scores. The Targeted Review period will close 30 days after the MIPS payment adjustments are released. You can continue to access your measure- and activity-level scores for data reported during the submission period. Performance period benchmarks are part of final scoring and will become available only once final scores are released. Once the 2025 final scores are published, we’ll announce their release through the QPP listserv.
In the meantime, we encourage you to confirm your MIPS eligibility and review the following scoring resources so that you’re prepared to understand your scores when they’re released.
The MVPs registration window is open for the 2026 performance year. Individuals, groups, subgroups, and APM Entities that want to report an MVP can register until November 30, 2026.
Visit the Explore MVPs page to learn more about the available MVPs for the 2026 performance period.
How to Register
Individuals, groups, subgroups, and APM Entities will register on the QPP website. You’ll need to have the Security Official role to register your organization. Please refer to the QPP Access User Guide (ZIP, 5MB) for information about obtaining a Security Official role for your organization.
How to Signal Your Intent to Report an MVP Via Medicare Part B Claims
If you’rereporting an MVP via Medicare Part B claims, you must signal your intent to report an MVP by submitting an MVP identifier that corresponds with the MVP being reported.
The appropriate MVP identifier must be appended on at least one Medicare Part B claim that includes an applicable Quality Data Code (QDC) for one of the quality measures in your selected MVP.
The MVP identifier needs to be reported only once during the performance period to attribute your quality measures to the MVP.If you don’t append the MVP identifier to at least one claim, your Medicare Part B claims measures will be attributed to a quality score in traditional MIPS (and not the MVP).
If you need help with reporting Medicare Part B claims measures, please contact the QPP Service Center by emailing QPP@cms.hhs.gov, creating a ticket through theQPP Service Center, or calling 1‑866‑288‑8292 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET).
As CMS continues to advance healthcare quality, the Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations (QIN-QIOs) are committed to supporting outpatient clinical practices through no cost and customized technical assistance. This article highlights how the QIN-QIO program has made a significantly positive impact on several small practices across the nation.
