Medicare to Docs: Fix Your Billing or Kiss Incentive Pay Goodbye!
Published Date: 8/13/2026
Notice
Summary
This advisory is to alert certain clinicians who are Qualifying Alternative Payment Model (APM) participants (QPs) and eligible to receive an APM Incentive Payment that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does not have the current billing information needed to disburse the payment. This advisory provides information to these clinicians on how to update their billing information to receive this payment for the 2026 payment year.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Submit Billing Info or Forfeit Payment
If you are a clinician who was a Qualifying APM Participant (QP) for the 2024 performance period and expected an APM incentive payment for the 2026 payment year, CMS does not have current billing/TIN information for some QPs. You must provide updated Medicare billing information through the Quality Payment Program website by October 13, 2026, or your claim to the 2026 APM incentive payment will be forfeited.
2026 APM Incentive Payment Rate
CMS states that QPs who attained QP status in the 2024 performance period earned an APM incentive payment for the 2026 payment year equal to 1.88 percent of the estimated aggregate paid amounts for covered professional services furnished in calendar year 2025. This is the percentage CMS used to calculate 2026 payments.
How to Avoid Payment Delays
CMS asks clinicians to follow the instructions at the '2026 QP Notice for APM Incentive Payment' on the QPP website and to contact the QPP Help Desk at 1-866-288-8292 with questions. If your banking information changed in the last year, CMS strongly recommends submitting a voided check and CMS Form 588 to help avoid payment delays; note CMS will not notify you if there is an issue processing your payment.
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