• Colorectal cancer was the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths in North Carolina in 2019.
  
  
• Data from 2020 shows that 20% of people aged 50-75 in the US have never been screened for this disease.
  
  
• In March 2021, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) changed screening recommendations to lower the age to begin screening from 50 to 45.
  

CMS has contracted with an entity ("Guidehouse") to conduct audits of data submitted as part of the Merit Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). These audits will  look at Performance Years 2019, 2020 and 2021, and notification emails will begin in January 2023.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Request for Information seeking public comment on the Medicare Advantage program.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is hosting a Quality Payment Program webinar on Thursday September 30, 2021 from 2-3 PM to provide an overview of the 2021 Alternative Payment Model (APM) Incentive Payment for Qualifying APM Participants.

In the April 2021 Medicare Secondary Payer MLN Booklet, CMS clarified the policy on accepting payments for services when another insurance is primary to Medicare. 

To learn more about Medicare Secondary Payer(MSP) billing and claims review the Medicare Secondary Payer MLN Booklet.  Common MSP coverage situations are listed in Table 1 (pp 5-8).

New Resources are Now Available on the QPP Resource Library 

On Monday March 15, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the Medicare reimbursement for administration of the COVID-19 vaccine would nearly double. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule on December 1st, 2020 that includes policy updates for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and other Medicare Part B issues, effective on or after January 1, 2021.