CMS publishes MACRA measure selection tool for physicians The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a tool that will let physicians review and select the MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) quality measures that best fit their practice. Under MACRA, CMS will begin measuring performance for eligible clinicians in 2017 through the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), with payment adjustments based on those results beginning in 2019. The MIPS payment adjustments will be based on performance in four categories: quality, resource use, clinical practice improvement activities and electronic health record (EHR) use. ... November 7, 2016 Medicare MACRA, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
MACRA does not create new reporting burdens, is significant improvement over existing law On October 14, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule to implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, known as MACRA. The final regulation represents a significant improvement over the existing Medicare payment system and quality reporting programs. The California Medical Association (CMA), the American Medical Association (AMA) and 788 other physician organizations supported the MACRA legislation because it reduces the administrative burdens in the Medicare fee-for-service quality and electronic health record (EHR) reporting programs. The MACRA legislation and the ... November 7, 2016 Medicare MACRA, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS and AMA schedule MACRA webinars The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have scheduled a number of educational webinars to help physicians understand and prepare for the new Medicare Quality Payment Program for physicians created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Below is a list of upcoming webinars: Title: Quality Payment Program Final Rule Presented by: CMS Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT Register: Click here Title: MACRA Education Presented by: AMA Date: Monday, November 21, 2016 Time: 4 to 5:30 p.m. PT Register: Click here Title: MACRA Education Presented ... November 4, 2016 Managed Care, Medi-Cal, Medicare MACRA, Webinars 0 0 Comment Read More »
MACRA final rule exempts one-third of Medicare physicians from MIPS Nearly a third of Medicare physicians could be exempt from Medicare's new merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) under the final rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The rule was released today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In the final rule, CMS raised the low-volume threshold, so that providers with less than $30,000 in Medicare payments or fewer than 100 Medicare patients are exempt from the MIPS reporting requirements. The earlier proposed rule would only have exempted physicians with less than $10,000 ... November 1, 2016 Managed Care, Medicare Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, MACRA, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
California Medical Association responds to final MACRA implementation rule The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today released the final implementation rule for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), which aims to reform the Medicare physician payment system. The California Medical Association (CMA), American Medical Association (AMA) and nearly every other physician organization supported the bipartisan legislation because it was intended to provide stable payment updates, significantly reduce the quality reporting program burdens, reinstate bonus payments and allow innovative, physician-led alternative payment models. “Physicians, particularly small and rural practices, need a modernized, flexible and ... October 27, 2016 Medicare MACRA, Medicare, Regulatory Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
AMA introduces new MACRA payment model evaluator The American Medical Association (AMA) has introduced a new online tool to help physicians evaluate the various new Medicare payment models and improve their opportunities for success under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), which will go into effect in 2017. The AMA Payment Model Evaluator is a free interactive tool offering initial assessments to help physicians determine how their practices will be impacted by MACRA. Once physicians or medical practice administrators fill out the online questionnaire, they will receive guidance on participating in the MACRA ... October 14, 2016 Medicare American Medical Association, AMA, MACRA, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
Podcast series: Inside Medicare's new payment system Changes to the Medicare payment system are on the horizon, and physicians around the country are wondering how the new Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will impact their practices. The American Medical Association (AMA) and ReachMD have produced a podcast series to provide physicians with an inside look at what’s to come and what they can do now to prepare for the transition to MACRA. Hear from industry experts and physician leaders about their experiences with new payment models, quality reporting and more. Available episodes include: ... October 13, 2016 Medicare MACRA, Medicare, Podcast 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians encouraged to verify CHPI data by November 11 Earlier this month, approximately 13,000 physicians in California received their individual quality measurement scores for the second cycle of the California Healthcare Performance Initiative System (CHPI) quality rating program. Physicians can review and verify the accuracy of the data used to calculate their scores through the CHPI online portal through November 11, 2016. The program rates physicians using claims data from Medicare fee-for-service, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and United Healthcare. This claims data includes both commercial and self-funded health plan data from HMO, PPO, POS and Medicare ... September 22, 2016 Managed Care, Medicare Medicare, Quality of Care, United Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, CHPI 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS eliminates penalties for first year of MACRA and offers "pick your pace" options The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on September 8 that it will allow physicians to choose the level and pace at which they comply with the new MACRA Medicare payment reforms. Participating at any level in 2017 will ensure that you will not be hit with payment penalties in 2019. The welcome announcement comes after the California Medical Association (CMA), American Medical Association (AMA) and other physician stakeholders urged CMS to ease the burdens and delay the first MACRA reporting period to give physicians more time to ... September 22, 2016 Medicare CMS, MACRA, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urges CMS to recalculate practice expense data to reflect California's higher practice costs As required by law, at least every three years the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adjusts payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule to reflect local differences in practice costs. In the proposed 2017 Medicare physician fee schedule, CMS made nationwide updates to the geographic practice cost indices (GPCI) based on new wage, rent and malpractice expense data. Unfortunately, according to CMS, the malpractice and practice expense GPCIs went down in nearly every region of California, which would result in a 0.48 percent GPCI payment reduction in all ... September 22, 2016 Managed Care, Medicare Fee Schedule, Geographic Practice Cost Index, GPCI, Medicare, Regulatory Advocacy, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
