American Institutes for Research to Support Federal Program that Rewards High-Quality Service to Medicare Enrollees
Arlington, Va. – The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been awarded a five-year contract to continue to provide support to a federal program that rewards clinicians that provide high-value, high-quality care for Medicare enrollees. AIR will support clinicians’ participation in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the next five years.
MIPS was launched in 2017 as a part of CMS’ Quality Payment Program (QPP) and rewards Medicare providers with payment increases for performing well on measures of quality, cost, quality improvement, and the use of health information technology. QPP also ensures that Medicare providers who do not perform well on these measures receive reduced payments.
Under this new contract, AIR will continue to translate complex policy into user friendly materials housed on the QPP website to help clinicians more easily understand the requirements of MIPS and more successfully participate in the program. AIR experts will also provide one-on-one support to clinicians to help them understand their specific reporting requirements, exemption qualifications, and performance reports.
The first contract to support the MIPS program was awarded in 2017 to IMPAQ International, which was acquired by AIR in 2020. The new contract runs through 2027 and will be managed by an AIR team led by Brandy Farrar and Shannon Walsh, who are experts in the area of value-based care and health care delivery innovation.
“Over the past five years, we have worked collaboratively with CMS to explain the MIPS program, improve communications about policies and procedures, and provide support and technical assistance to clinicians who participate in the program,” said David Baker, senior vice president for the AIR Health Division. “We are excited to continue that work and build on the progress we have made, all in service of providing high-quality care to Medicare patients across the country.”
AIR has an extensive portfolio of work designed to help improve the performance of federal health care systems. It has held the Marketplace Operations Support contract for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) since 2013, providing technical assistance to the Affordable Care Act’s Federal Health Insurance Marketplace. Earlier this year, AIR was awarded a contract to operate a national survey system that assesses consumers’ experiences with the Health Insurance Marketplaces and the qualified health plans sold on them.
About AIR
Established in 1946, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of education, health and the workforce. AIR’s work is driven by its mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world. With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR has offices across the U.S. and abroad. For more information, visit https://www.air.org/.