October 2016
This update will be dedicated to the largest restructuring of physician payment since the Affordable Care Act; MACRA. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) bill is one of the only bipartisan bills of the 2015 congressional session. It was created to replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) system and move towards to a more value-based model of healthcare. After it was passed in Congress in 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) received the bill to further discuss and modify the language. CMS came out with a 'propose rule' in April of 2016 and encouraged organizations, like the AMA, to comment on the ruling. As the comment period comes to a close, the CMS is now ramping up to give a final ruling on MACRA which is postulated to drop in early November. This final ruling will forever change the healthcare landscape and how we practice as future physicians.
The AMA has been hard at work sending extensive comments to CMS about the proposed MACRA ruling advocating on the behalf of physicians concerns. Just recently, CMS' Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt commented that they intend to allow physicians to have greater flexibility and choice when it comes to avoiding payment penalties. Significant wins like this should make us proud as members of the AMA. Every day, advocacy staffers are working to represent our specific issues and they continue to do an excellent job.
CEQM will be coming out with educational materials on MACRA later in the near future. Until then, feel free to check out some of the physician resources below created by the AMA’s MACRA Task Force.
- MACRA website – Includes a checklist with steps practices can take now to prepare, an action kit and slideshow with information about what is in the proposed rule, an outline of advocacy efforts, a "Guide to physician-focused payment models," and additional resources
- AMA STEPS Forward® module, "Preparing your practice for value-based care" – CME-accredited activity provides steps to take, answers to common questions and case vignettes
- New podcast series "Inside Medicare's new payment system" – Produced by ReachMD, these downloadable audio stories feature interviews with industry experts and physician leaders (including CMS' Andy Slavitt, AMA President Andrew Gurman, MD, and the AMA’s Richard Deem and Michael Tutty)
- AMA Wire® stories – Ongoing articles on the latest MACRA developments, how physicians are participating in new models of care, and more
Lastly, don’t forget to register for Advocacy Update and AMA Morning Rounds to stay up to date with news about MACRA and new resources.
Christopher Clifford | Government Relations Advocacy Fellow | Washington D.C.
Christopher.clifford@ama-assn.org