Top 5 Strategies for Educating Key Stakeholders on the 2024 MPFS Updates
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule on Nov. 1, 2024. The agency also establishes a new specialty measure set for optometry for the CY 2025 performance period and the 2027 MIPS payment year and subsequent years.
In the 2023 MPFS final rule, the agency grouped optometry and ophthalmology into a single specialty set. However, the interested stakeholders recommended that the two specialties be split for CY 2025 due to the varied procedures carried out in each specialty. "We concurrently proposed to establish a separate optometry specialty set with a more limited number of quality measures based on differences in scope of practice to ophthalmology," CMS wrote in the 2025 MPFS final rule.
CMS lists measures and reasons for inclusion related to the new optometry specialty set. The agency has stated, "The optometry specialty set takes additional criteria into consideration, which includes, but is not limited to, whether a measure reflects current clinical guidelines, and the coding of the measure includes relevant clinician types."
Any change management project, including those related to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), cannot be effective unless stakeholders are included. Stakeholder participation promotes openness, cooperation, and the smoother adoption of changes.
Here are five crucial steps/strategies to ensure effective stakeholder engagement:
1. Identify and analyze stakeholders.
To begin, do a thorough study of the stakeholders who may be affected by changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Rank them depending on the influence, interest, and impact that one would make upon completing the project. Do surveys and interviews or conduct focus groups to ascertain people's viewpoints and concerns, as well as expectations with MPFS changes.
2. Outline a plan of clear communication.
Develop a plan to ensure that clear communication takes place during the entire project. Plan on sharing information about the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Develop messages that would resonate with various stakeholders based on their needs and interests—for example, health providers, policy analysts, and administration. Set up some form of regular communication with the sponsors, team members, and stakeholders. This could be done through a newsletter, webinar, or workshop.
3. Relationship building and trust.
Spend time with the key stakeholders, including the supporters and resistors of change to the MPFS. Provide open information about the goals, benefits, and potential challenges of the project. Respond to the concerns and feedback stakeholders have regarding the MPFS in order to build trust and credibility.
4. Stakeholder Engagement in Decision-Making.
Involve stakeholders in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule revision and decision-making processes. Gather feedback on reimbursement models and payment modifications during critical decision-making periods; implement when possible. It fosters greater dedication and ownership for the change, resulting in stronger outcomes due to stakeholder participation.
5. Provide support and resources
Identify the barrier or challenge with which the stakeholder may confront change in Medicare Physician Fee Schedules and discuss the same so that they receive the necessary resources and support while adapting to such changes. As an example, develop educative materials on how the new reimbursement systems work, or establish a peer network.
Stakeholder engagement is an ongoing process throughout any Medicare Physician Fee Schedule change management project. It is necessary to regularly assess the effectiveness of your engagement strategies and adapt them according to changing stakeholder dynamics. Celebrate milestones and successes along the way to maintain momentum and enthusiasm. Prioritizing such steps would increase the chances for the successful adaptation of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule alterations and align better with the overall goal of the projects.