2026 MIPS Criteria, Determining Reimbursement Rates for Medicare Patients, Will Maintain Current Standards for ODs

WASHINGTON, D.C.—For the 2026 reporting year, the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which determines reimbursement rates for traditional Medicare patients, will stay largely the same for optometrists, according to an announcement from the American Optometric Association (AOA). This news comes as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) year is starting, said Rebecca Wartman, OD, chair of the AOA’s coding and reimbursement committee. At the same time, the AOA noted that the newly available Ophthalmic Care MIPS Value Pathway (MVP) option could make the Medicare reimbursement bonuses more accessible.