October 31, 2016

American Medical Association

MACRA Education from the AMA

The American Medical Association(AMA) is offering several educational opportunities to help physicians understand  the requirements of the new Quality Payment Program (QPP) that was created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).   The  sessions have been scheduled to give physicians an understanding of  what the final rule means for their practice and what they need to do as part of the QPP.

All of the sessions,  except the November 29th, are open to physicians and medical society staff. We hope you will take advantage and register for these opportunities to learn what you need to know.

The November 29th session will be focused on helping medical society staff to gain a better understanding of the new regulations.

Monday,  Nov. 21, 7 pm – 8:30 pm eastern                          
Physician/Staff  webinar
Registration: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/y70aavsqh5g0&eom

                                                               
Tuesday,  Nov. 29, 1 pm -3pm eastern                   
Staff Train the trainer webinar
Registration: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/qptr0uqxdfip&eom

 

Thursday,  Dec. 1 – 6:30 pm – 9 pm eastern                      
Atlanta regional seminar (streaming and webinar)
Cobb Galleria Center
Atlanta Georgia
Registration:   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/macra-regional-seminar-atlanta-tickets-28840143646

 

Tuesday,  Dec. 6, 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm eastern
Physician/staff  webinar
Registration: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/j8d0v8kh1qr3&eom

 

Saturday,  Dec. 10, 9 am -11:30 pacific
San Francisco regional seminar ( streaming and webinar)
Marriot Marquis
San Francisco, CA
Registration:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/macra-regional-seminar-san-francisco-tickets-28863673023

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October 20, 2016

American Medical Association

MACRA Education from the AMA

Below are two documents prepared by the AMA’s Washington Office, outlining major provisions of Medicare’s new Quality Payment Program (QPP) for physicians that was created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).  The longer summary document provides some detail of the various components of the final rule that was issued last week, and notes where key improvements were made to the policies set forth in the original proposed rule.  The second is a chart with more abbreviated descriptions of changes to the original proposed rule that were secured.

QPP Highlight Chart

QPP Summary

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October 14, 2016

American Medical Association

Final Medicare (MACRA) Rule Issued

This morning, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).  While the AMA is in the process of fully analyzing the regulations, a first review reveals that CMS responded to many of the concerns expressed by physicians about the proposed rule issued last spring.  For example:

• Details are provided about the 2017 transition period announced in September.  The only physicians who will experience payment penalties in 2019 are those who choose to report no performance data next year, and those who report for at least 90-days will be eligible for positive payment adjustments.

• The low-volume threshold that exempts physicians from all performance reporting has been increased from $10,000 in annual Medicare revenue and less than 100 Medicare patients to $30,000 in revenue or 100 patients.  CMS estimates that this change will exempt 32.5 percent of physicians and other clinicians from the program.

• Performance reporting requirements have been further reduced, and the resource use component of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) has been reweighted to zero for 2017.

Summaries, fact sheets and other CMS resources are available on the agency’s web site.  In the coming days, the AMA will make additional resources available on its own MACRA web page, which can be accessed at www.ama-assn.org/go/medicarepayment.

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Final MACRA rule expands exemptions, flexibility
(Modern Healthcare Article)

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October 6, 2016

AMA MACRA Resources

With pending 2017 changes to Medicare that come as a result of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) law, the American Medical Association has released new tools and resources to help physicians prepare.
The aim of the new tools is to ease the transition to MACRA. You've heard plenty already about the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and alternative payment models (APM), but now is the time for physicians to see how they fit the characteristics of their individual practices.
The new resources are:

• The AMA Payment Model Evaluator is an innovative tool offering initial assessments to physicians so they can determine how their practices will be impacted by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Developed with the expertise of physicians and input from partners, the tool will give physicians and their staff a brief assessment, as well as relevant educational and actionable resources. Once physicians and medical practice administrators fill out the online questionnaire, they will receive guidance for participating in the MACRA payment model that is best for them. The AMA will continually update the Payment Model Evaluator to respond to regulatory changes and to keep practices up to date throughout the new payment and care delivery reform process. The tool is free to all physicians and their practice administrators.
• The AMA STEPS Forward™ collection of practice improvement strategies has new MACRA-specific tools. Accurate and successful reporting on quality metrics is crucial to the new Medicare payment system, both in the current Physician Quality Reporting System program and under MACRA’s new Quality Payment Programs. Each STEPS Forward module focuses on a specific challenge and offers real-world solutions, steps for implementation,, case studies, continuing medical education, and downloadable tools and resources. Physicians and their practice staff can use these to help improve practice efficiency and ultimately enhance patient care, physician satisfaction and practice sustainability. The full collection, which now includes 42 modules, has a variety of tools that will help physicians and their practices, including:
  • Implementing team-based care
  • Electronic health record selection and implementation
  • Preparing practices for value-based care
  • Implementing team documentation
  • Quality Reporting and the importance of Qualified Clinical Data Registries (QCDRs) in maximizing your success
• The AMA launched a ReachMD podcast series titled Inside Medicare’s New Payment System. Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Gurman, AMA staff experts, and others are featured on the series, which will include five episodes to help physicians be informed on upcoming Medicare changes. 

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is slated to release the final Medicare rule by Nov. 1. The AMA will provide additional information at that time.

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September 26, 2016

MACRA UPDATE

 

As we await the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) releasing its final rule on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), we want to update you on our latest advocacy work and new physician resources. Through the MACRA Task Force and various work groups, the AMA and the Federation have been collaborating to develop strategic approaches to our advocacy, along with consistent messaging. In addition the AMA filed extensive comments on CMS’ proposed rule, emphasizing the need for greater flexibility and choice.

Recently we saw further evidence that CMS has been listening to physician concerns, when CMS Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt announced that physicians can choose among four options to avoid payment penalties in 2019. Medicine welcomed CMS’ decision to allow physicians to pick their own pace for the initial MACRA reporting period in 2017 as a positive step toward giving all physicians a fair opportunity to succeed.     

Although details on MACRA implementation will not be available until the final rule is released later this fall, we have developed a number of resources to help physician practices begin to prepare for the transition to the new payment system:

• 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” (available at https://reachmd.com/programs/inside-medicares-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

There is much more to come this fall as we release our new web-based tool to help physicians understand which MACRA pathway is best for them and assess its impact on their practice, and we develop new resources after the final rule is released. We are also planning regional seminars on MACRA, as well as webinars for physicians and “train the trainer” webinars for medical society staff.

Register for Advocacy Update and AMA Morning Rounds to stay up to date with news about MACRA and new resources.

MACRA 101 | MACRA web site