3 principles driving new Medicare payment systems

When Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), testified before an influential congressional committee Wednesday about implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the focus was clear: The patient and physician must be at center of the new Medicare payment systems.  A look at the draft regulations Rep. Pat Tiberi, chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, said the committee called the hearing to discuss how the draft regulations released last month match the congressional intent of the law. In particular, the committee was interested in how physicians and other stakeholders have responded to the draft regulations. They also focused many of their questions and remarks on the importance of final regulations that take special care to ensure the success of physicians in small practices, as well as those in larger groups. “MACRA streamlined the patchwork of programs that currently measure value and quality into a single framework … where every physician and clinician has the opportunity to be paid more for providing better care for their patients,” Slavitt said.  He said CMS’ goal is to make the payment pathways under MACRA “flexible, transparent and simple so physicians can focus on patient care, not reporting or scorekeeping. Physicians know best how to provide high-quality care to our beneficiaries.” Slavitt said three principles are guiding the agency’s implement...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news