H.R. 8622 — Medicare Physician Data-driven Performance Payment System Act of 2026

This section establishes the Data-driven Performance Payment System (DPPS)—replacing the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) under Medicare's physician fee schedule (42 U.S.C. 1395w–4(q))—effective January 1, 2027, and directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transition terminology references from MIPS to DPPS to avoid provider confusion. (As background, MIPS adjusts Medicare payments to eligible clinicians based on composite performance scores across quality measures, promoting interoperability, improvement activities, and cost.) It retains existing MIPS adjustment factors for performance years before 2028 and establishes fixed DPPS adjustment factors for 2028 and subsequent years of 1.25 (+25%), 1 (0%), 0.75 (-25%), or 0.5 (-50%)—applied to the update of the nonqualifying alternative payment model conversion factor—based on an eligible professional's composite performance score relative to the performance threshold (or treatment as achieving the lowest score for non-reporting); such factors do not apply if the conversion factor update is negative or, in certain cases, if timely quarterly feedback reports are not received.