Which data sources are used to calculate MIPS cost measures?

• A. Hospital annual budgets.
• B. Public health surveillance data.
• C. Patient satisfaction surveys.
• D. Claims data and provider-specific cost reports.

Answer: (D)

MIPS cost measures rely on data that truly reflect what care costs across a patient’s episode or period. The core sources are claims data, which come from Medicare Part A and Part B claims and capture the services delivered and the payments made, providing a standardized view of costs. Pairing this with provider-specific cost reports adds detailed, practice- or facility-level cost information that helps adjust for differences in patient mix and resource use. Internal hospital budgets aren’t standardized across providers and aren’t used for CMS comparisons, public health surveillance data tracks population outcomes rather than provider-level costs, and patient satisfaction surveys measure experience rather than cost. Together, claims data and provider-specific cost reports give the mechanisms CMS uses to calculate MIPS cost measures.