The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a proposal to align and modernize how Medicare payments are tied to the cost and quality of patient care for hundreds of thousands of doctors and other clinicians. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a first step in implementing certain provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). This legislation – supported by a bipartisan majority and stakeholders such as patient groups and medical associations – ended more than a decade of last-minute fixes and potential payment cliffs for Medicare doctors and clinicians, while making numerous improvements to America’s health care system.
“The legislation Congress passed a little over a year ago was a milestone in our efforts to advance a health care system that rewards better care, smarter spending, and healthier people,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “We have more work to do, but we are committed to implementing this important legislation and creating a health care system that works better for doctors, patients, and taxpayers alike. We look forward to listening to and learning from the public on our proposal for how to advance that goal.”
Please take a moment to watch the whiteboard video to MACRA here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7df7cHghaS4&feature=youtu.be
In implementing MACRA, we were guided by the same principles underlying the bipartisan legislation itself: streamlining and strengthening quality-based payments for all physicians; rewarding participation in Advanced Alternative Payment Models that create the strongest incentives for high-quality, efficient, and coordinated care; and giving doctors and other clinicians flexibility regarding how they participate in the new payment system. Today’s rule incorporates input from patients, caregivers, clinicians, health care professionals, and other stakeholders, but it represents only the first step in an iterative implementation process.
HHS looks forward to feedback on the proposal and will accept comments until June 26, 2016.
Comments may be submitted electronically through our e-Regulation website at http://www.cms.gov/…/Regulations-an…/eRulemaking/index.html…
For more information about today’s proposals, including a fact sheet, please visit: http://go.cms.gov/QualityPaymentProgram.
Of note, right now only physicians and nurses will participate. My hope is that we will get enough letters from other types of care providers and the providers of wrap-around services that we will also be able to practice integrated care as we deploy this new payment model.
Your comments are very welcomed!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/br...needed/#d6a29073a163
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