MIPS: Succeed in 2026

In 2026, you need to earn 75 points to avoid the 9% negative adjustment completely.

While not all clinicians and groups will meet the minimum threshold, starting early and earning as many points as possible will help mitigate the potential for a negative adjustment and maximize your success.

While MIPS is indeed getting harder every year, Mingle Health is here to guide you to success.

Meet with your Mingle Consultant to learn all that you need to know, set goals, and create a project plan to participate in all categories of MIPS. Be sure to share important deadlines and milestones with stakeholders in your organization such as clinicians, billing team, and anyone else who assists with quality management efforts.

Optimizing MIPS Performance: A 5-Quarter Cycle

Our explainer video below is a great place to start if you’re new to MIPS. In the video, you’ll learn the basics of MIPS and gain a foundational understanding of each MIPS Performance Category.

Click play to learn the basics of MIPS now:

What can you expect from your assigned Consultant?

When you work with Mingle Health, you gain access to unmatched MIPS expertise in your assigned Consultant. Your Consultant can provide a framework for your MIPS project, offer recommendations, and answer any specific questions you may have.

Your Consultant will review your MIPS project progress at regular intervals to facilitate the work you’re doing in the Mingle Health Dashboard and assist when necessary.

What will your consultant expect from you?

To ensure your MIPS project progresses through the year, you’ll need to upload your data to the Mingle Health Dashboard in a regular cadence. You’ll need to set up a MIPS workflow in your organization to make sure you’re not falling behind throughout the year.

You and your team will serve as the champions for your practice improvement. Due to the remote nature of our work, your team should be familiar with attending online meetings and be able to use e-mail, Excel, and our web-based software.

Your team will need to coordinate with internal system vendors such as EHRs and billing systems. Team members will ensure that all necessary files will be provided according to Mingle specifications (see resources below).

Your team will be essential in helping to spark engagement and excitement for your entire clinical and operational staff.

How often will you meet?

Our goal is to be a partner of your practice, helping to navigate challenges and maintain steady progress along the way.

You’ll have access to your Consultant via email, through our website’s chat functionality, or you can give us a call. You can request a meeting with your Consultant when you have specific questions about your MIPS project or if you run into challenges that require your Consultant’s expertise.

Our goal is to support your organization in earning the highest MIPS score possible and maximize the ROI for participation. When you work with Mingle, not only do we help you avoid the 9% penalty, we pair you with a knowledgeable and friendly Mingle Health “coach” to guide you every step of the way through the program.

Completing the actions by the dates listed below gives you the best chance of driving your practice quality toward your goals and gives the greatest visibility for monitoring your MIPS score.

If you have begun working with us after some of these dates have passed, we will assess together how to best mitigate the risks to your MIPS reporting.

Analyzing your past performance is one of the best ways to understand how you are scoring under MIPS.

Take a moment to pull together prior reports and data to understand what worked well and areas for improvement including data capture, workflows, and EHR vendor requirements.

Make sure to download your most recent CMS Feedback Report which includes a breakdown of your past MIPS scores, including the MIPS Cost category. CMS typically publishes Feedback Reports for the prior performance year in July.

Questions to ask:

• How did you score in each category?
• Are those scores aligned with your goals?
• What are your areas of strength? What could be improved this year?

Make sure to share your questions, responses, and prior year performance reports with your Mingle Consultant.

You can find more information on how MIPS eligibility is determined on the QPP website >>

For clinicians that fall under the low volume threshold and still want to participate, they can opt in to the MIPS reporting and receive incentive payments based on success within the program.