On April 27, CMS released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Supported by a bipartisan majority and stakeholders, such as patient and medical associations, the MACRA legislation ended more than a decade of last-minute fixes and potential payment cliffs for Medicare doctors and clinicians. It also made numerous improvements to America’s health care system.
So what does this all mean? What should we do? Who should comment? We turn to the industry leaders for more a look at what they are saying.
Groups and associations are publicizing their initial reactions.
American Medical Association (AMA) – “Our initial review suggests that CMS has been listening to physicians’ concerns. In particular, it appears that CMS has made significant improvements by recasting the EHR Meaningful Use program and by reducing quality reporting burdens. Read their statement.
American Hospital Association – As a strong advocate for the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the AHA (@ahahospitals) believes the new physician payment programs reflect the transformation happening in health care that hospitals and health systems have already embraced. Today’s proposed rule will have a significant impact on America’s hospitals, and the more than 540,000 directly employed or contracted physicians with whom they partner to deliver quality care to patients and communities. Read their full statement.
[tweet_box design=”box_09″ float=”none”]. @AmerMedicalAssn says @CMSGov makes big improvements by recasting #MeaningfulUse program under #MACRA #MIPS [/tweet_box]
HIMSS statement on the release and comment from Carla Smith, vice president, HIMSS North America. “As CMS begins to bring MACRA, MIPS (the Merit-based Incentive Payment System) and alternative payment model requirements online, we commit to continuing to work with CMS and the provider community to ensure the health IT foundation established, in part, by meaningful use is leveraged to improve the health status of all.”
The National Association for Trusted Exchange (NATE) – Congratulates CMS on its commitment to patient access to data in Proposed MACRA Rule. They are “is pleased to see that CMS is poised to reward providers for increasing their options for achieving electronic communication with their patients. The proposed MACRA Advancing Care Information (ACI) performance category’s base score determination not only requires that providers demonstrate that they can share information with their patients through secure messaging, it also requires providers to allow patients to access their own information using any consumer-facing application (CFA) of their choice through an API. Giving patients multiple methods to communicate with their providers will go a long way in making the patient an equal member of their care team.” Read their entire statement.
For Your Information…
Need more information? Here are some good articles and resources trying to sort out and educate on the new programs.
- PCPCC (@pcpcc) National Briefing Webinar: MACRA, MIPS, APMs, and COC+ – What to Expect from all these Acronyms? Experts Shari Erickson, American College of Physicians and Laura Sessums, CMS Innovation (CMMI).
- A Deep Dive on the MACRA NPRM, by Dr. John Halamka, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, (@jhalamka)
- The MACRA Proposed Rule by Greg Fulton, Wellcentive (@wellcentive)
- FAQ: Medicare Lays Out Plans For Changing Doctors’ Pay, by Mary Agnes Carey, Kaiser Health News (@KHNews)
- Medicare’s new plan for paying doctors: 10 key takeaways, by Eric Cragun and Rivka Friedman, The Advisory Board (@TheAdvisoryBd)
- Physician payment in Medicare is changing: Three highlights in the MACRA proposed rule that providers need to know, by Kavita Patel, Margaret Darling, Caitlin Brandt and Paul Ginsburg, Brookings (@BrookingsInst)
- Breaking Down The MACRA Proposed Rule, by Billy Wynne, Katie Pahner, Devin Zatorski, Health Affairs Blog (@health_affairs)
- Kareo’s #KareoChat on the New MACRA Proposed Rule & Effect on Small Practice, hosted by their CMIO, Dr. Tom Giannulli (@drtom_kareo). Read the feed on their Storify.
- American College of Physicians – MACRA Resources (@acpinternists)