Due to the ongoing efforts by the AMA, CMS has added an option to cite the cyberattack when requesting the 2024 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances (EUC) hardship exception.
To account for the increased number of physicians that have been impacted by a cyberattack this year, CMS has specifically added a drop-down tab in the application to indicate the EUC is due to the Change cyberattack. When in the EUC portal, physicians should select the event type as “ransom/malware”. Once a physician clicks on the event type “ransom/malware” a drop-down box will appear asking whether the event pertains to the Change Healthcare Cyberattack. Reference page 8 in the 2024 MIPS EUC Application User Guide for more details. The 2024 MIPS EUC portal is now open, and physicians have until December 31, 2024, to file a hardship application and avoid a 2026 MIPS negative payment adjustment.
When applying for a hardship, physicians have the option to request reweighting of up to four MIPS categories. Reweighting of all performance categories will result in avoiding a MIPS penalty of up to -9 percent in 2026. As a reminder, if a physician or group submits data, it will override the hardship exception and the physician or group may be scored.