Study Reveals “Suboptimal” MIPS Participation Among Oncologists

Oncologist participation in the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) is below national participation across all specialties, according to a study published in The Oncologist.

The study also showed that oncologists who treated patients with greater clinical complexity had lower MIPS scores, and oncologists at larger practices had higher MIPS scores. 

The study included 16,511 eligible oncologists, and 86.1% of them participated in MIPS in 2019. This is below the level of national participation across all specialties in 2019, which was 97%. 

Of the oncologists who did not participate in MIPS, half were exempt, and half were elective non-participants. 

When compared with non-participants, MIPS participants had fewer mean beneficiaries, were more likely to be hematologists/oncologists, and were more likely to be affiliated with National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers (P <.001 for all).

Participating oncologists had a mean MIPS score of 86.7. The mean MIPS score across all specialties was 86.1.

In a multivariable analysis, lower MIPS scores were seen among oncologists who filed as groups (P <.001) or individuals (P <.001) rather than with alternative payment models.

Lower MIPS scores were also seen for oncologists who treated patients with greater clinical complexity (P =.01), were in practice for 25 years or more ( P <.001), and were affiliated with NCI-designated hospitals (P <.001).

Higher MIPS scores were seen for radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, oncologists with high caseloads, and oncologists at larger practices (P <.001 for all). 

“Our findings reveal suboptimal MIPS participation among oncologists,” the researchers wrote. “Efforts to promote greater engagement and more equitable MIPS scoring for oncologists are needed to prevent unfavorable changes in their future reimbursement.”

Reference

Patel VR, Cwalina TB, Gupta A, et al. Oncologist participation and performance in the merit-based incentive payment system. Oncologist. Published online February 27, 2023. doi:10.1093/oncolo/oyad03