Compliance Monitor (06/17/2025)

An informal public hearing on OSHA’s Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule is scheduled to be held virtually beginning on June 16, 2025, and continuing through July 2, 2025. The hearing schedule and procedures, as well as public livestream links to view the hearing, are available HERE.   

The public comment period closed on January 14, 2025. Public comments are available for viewing in the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention rulemaking docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OSHA-2021-0009/comments. 

OSHA’s Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2024, and is available for viewing at https://federalregister.gov/d/2024-14824. 

Additional information on OSHA’s rulemaking process and how stakeholders can participate is available at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/rulemakingprocess. 

Improvement activities recommended for inclusion or modification should be sent using the Improvement Activities Submission Template (below) to the email: CMSCallforActivities@abtassoc.com. Stakeholders will receive an email confirmation for their submission.  Improvement activities submitted between now and July 1, 2025 will be considered for inclusion for the CY 2027 performance period/2029 MIPS payment year. Improvement activities submitted after July 1, 2025, will be considered for inclusion in future years of the Quality Payment Program.  During a public health emergency (PHE), nominations will be accepted outside of the February 1 through July 1 submission period as long as the improvement activity is relevant to the PHE. All fields of this form must be completed in order for your submission to be considered. Stakeholders should submit a modification submissionQPP Resource Library if the improvement activity they submitted or one that refers to a program or policy they manage requires an update. 

We also refer submitters to the 2025 MIPS Improvement Activities list on the CMS Quality Payment Program Resource Library, which lists the complete Inventory of current improvement activities for the CY 2025 performance period/2027 MIPS payment year. Submitters should ensure that proposed new activities do not duplicate existing ones. 

MIPS improvement activities considered for selection must meet all 8 of the required acceptance criteria below:  

• Relevance to an existing improvement activities subcategory (or a proposed new subcategory); 

• Importance of an activity toward achieving improved beneficiary health outcomes; 

• Feasible to implement, recognizing importance in minimizing burden, including, to the extent possible, for small practices, practices in rural areas, or practices in areas designated as geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); 

• Evidence supports that an activity has a high probability of contributing to improved beneficiary health outcomes; 

• Can be linked to existing and related MIPS quality, Promoting Interoperability, and cost measures as applicable and feasible; 

• CMS is able to validate the activity; 

• Does not duplicate other improvement activities in the Inventory; and 

• Should drive improvements that go beyond purely common clinical practices. 

MIPS improvement activities considered for selection can also meet one or more of the optional acceptance criteria below. Meeting one or more of the optional criteria may increase a submission’s chances of being added to the Inventory: 

• Alignment with patient-centered medical homes; 

• Support for the patient’s family or personal caregiver; 

• Responds to a PHE as determined by the Secretary; 

• Addresses improvements in practice to reduce health care disparities; 

• Focus on meaningful actions from the person and family’s point of view; and 

• Representative of activities that multiple individual MIPS eligible clinicians or groups could perform (for example, primary care, specialty care). 

Stakeholders should submit a modification submission via the Call for IA Submission Form if the improvement activity they submitted or one that refers to a program or policy they manage requires an update.” 

During the recent Senate Comprehensive Care Caucus briefing, stakeholders discussed two legislative initiatives aimed at integrating innovative, home-based, and person-centered care models for patients with serious and terminal illnesses. The Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act and the Improving Access to Transfusion Care for Hospice Patients Act are both designed to address issues related to access, reimbursement, workforce, and care delivery. 

If enacted, the bills would allow the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test new payment models intended to reduce barriers to timely, coordinated care. The bipartisan briefing was hosted by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and John Barrasso (R-Wy.), who underscored growing demand amid persisting challenges. 

The Final April 2025 Interim Performance Reports (IPRs) for the expanded HHVBP Model have been published on the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). The quarterly IPRs provide home health agencies (HHAs) with the cohort assignment, performance year measure data for the 12 most recent months, and the interim Total Performance Score (TPS). Using the IPRs, an HHA can assess and track their performance relative to peers in their respective cohort throughout the expanded Model performance year.  

An HHA will receive an April 2025 if the HHA: 

• Was Medicare certified prior to January 1, 2023, and 

• Meets the minimum threshold of data for at least one (1) quality measure in the quarterly reporting period for the performance year shown in Exhibit 1.  

CMS entered into a computer matching agreement to identify claims paid by both Medicare and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). Starting next month, we’ll take action to recover any duplicate payments. 

You must bill services authorized by the VA to the VA. 

More Information: 

• Adjustment of Medicare Claims Where Veteran Affairs Also Made Payment (PDF) MLN Matters article 

• Medicare Secondary Payer Manual, Chapter 7 (PDF), section 20.5.2 

On May 20, CMS and ASTP/ONC hosted a webinar on the Health Technology Ecosystem Request for Information (RFI). 

The recording and transcript are now available: 

• Recording 

• Transcript 

Comment on the RFI at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/05/16/2025-08701/request-for-information-health-technology-ecosystem. Your input will help shape the future of the digital health tool ecosystem!  To be assured consideration, comments must be received by June 16, 2025. 

The Innovation Center launched a new, transformative strategy to advance President Trump and HHS Secretary Kennedy’s call to action to Make America Healthy Again and demonstrate the Center’s strong commitment to protect federal taxpayers. 

The strategy focuses on three pillars: 

1. Promote evidence-based prevention. Prevention will be part of every model; interventions will emphasize lifestyle changes and ensure models are contributing to broader disease prevention, health promotion outcomes, and reduced overall costs. 

2. Empower people to achieve their health goals. The Center will increase patient access to information and tools for disease management and healthy living and align financial incentives with health. 

3. Drive choice and competition. The Center will reduce administrative burden and increase independent provider participation in models, giving patients more options for care at a lower cost. 

Read more in the white paper: CMS Innovation Center’s Strategy to Make America Healthy Again or watch the announcement webinar. 

Medicare providers: To participate in an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) for performance year 2026, work with an ACO to join their participant list. ACOs must submit their lists to CMS by August 1, 2025, by: 

• Noon ET for the Medicare Shared Savings Program 

• 11:59 pm ET for the ACO REACH Model 

Participant taxpayer identification numbers cannot overlap multiple ACO participant lists. Resolve any overlaps by September 8. 

More Information: 

• Application Types & Timeline webpage 

• Email questions to SharedSavingsProgram@cms.hhs.gov or ACOREACH@cms.hhs.gov 

The 2025 CMS Quality Conference is just around the corner, and we’ve crafted an extraordinary experience designed to inspire action and drive meaningful change. Together, we’ll redefine quality care delivery and place prevention at the heart of everything we do. 

This July, join fellow visionaries committed to our powerful mission: “Make America Healthy: Improving Health Outcomes Through Prevention, Quality, and Safety.” Whether you’re a provider, policymaker, innovator, or quality advocate, we’ve designed an agenda that speaks directly to your passion and expertise. 

Preview our Agenda-at-a-Glance to start planning your personalized conference journey! 

Dates: July 1–2, 2025 

Location: Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD 

Limited spots remain for this transformative event! 

REGISTER NOW 

Register for the webinar on July 17, 2025, at 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. ET 

Empowering patients to take an active role in their health is key to driving meaningful and sustainable behavior change. By using tools like clinical decision support (CDS) systems, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platforms, and mobile health apps, healthcare providers can engage patients in managing chronic conditions and making informed decisions about their health. 

Splash – World of Medicare MLN Web-based Training Course 

Training course available about Medicare Essentials, Medicare Advantage, Drug Plan, and becoming a Medicare Provider