Khullar D, Schpero WL, Bond AM, et al. - Researchers undertook this cross-sectional study to examine the link between patient social risk and physicians’ scores in the first year of Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which is a major Medicare value-based payment program with an objective to improve quality and attenuate expenses. Physicians engaging in MIPS in 2017 were analyzed. The 2017 composite MIPS score (range, 0-100; higher scores suggest better performance) was the primary outcome. Overall 284,544 physicians were included (76.1% men, 60.1% with ≥ 20 years in practice, 11.9% in rural location, 26.8% hospital-based, and 24.6% in primary care). Among physicians who took part in the first year of the Medicare MIPS program, significantly lower MIPS scores were reported for physicians with the highest proportion of patients dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid vs other physicians.