New Year Brings New CMS Patient Survey—But Probably No New Insights

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will ask Medicare beneficiaries how their healthcare providers are doing under the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which was supposed to help improve the quality of care while lowering cost. No revelations are expected, however, because the survey is voluntary and CMS has taken a relaxed approach to getting providers on board with the new system. In addition, survey results—which, presumably, will be made public to help consumers make informed decisions—are going to be available only on the Physician Compare consumer website. As such, some critics are asking whether the survey will serve any purpose at all. Most providers are expected to participate in MIPS, ultimately, but as of now CMS expects covered patients from 461 practices to respond to the survey, reflecting the experiences of an estimated 132,307 patients who have seen some 187,990 providers.