Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Reform MIPS Physician Payment

On April 30, 2026, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-IA) and Herb Conaway, MD (D-NJ) introduced the Medicare Physician Data-driven Performance Payment System Act of 2026 (H.R. 8622), a bipartisan bill that would replace the existing Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) with a new framework called the Data-driven Performance Payment System (DPPS), effective January 1, 2027.

The legislation addresses several longstanding criticisms of MIPS. Key provisions include:

• Performance Threshold Stability: Freezes the performance threshold at 75 points to provide short-term stability while the GAO studies alternative threshold methodologies.
• Elimination of Tournament-Style Penalties: Replaces the current bonus and penalty structure with payment adjustments tied to annual payment updates rather than penalties of up to 9%.
• Quarterly Performance Feedback: Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide clinicians with feedback reports during the measurement year, with protections from negative adjustments if CMS fails to deliver on time.
• Support for Underserved Practices: Creates additional incentive payments for small, rural, and underserved practices to invest in care management and value-based care participation.

The legislation reflects a broader push across organized medicine to address MIPS concerns, including payment volatility, delayed data, and inequitable penalties, that require a statutory fix rather than regulatory action alone.