Category: MACRA
-
Medical Association Endorses Refinements to Improve MACRA
Since the enactment of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, many organizations have worked with Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to promote a smooth implementation of the two payment models. Although MACRA is an improvement over the flawed sustainable growth rate payment model, its implementation has been flawed. The Medical…
-
CMS Announces New Funding Opportunity for Quality Payment Program (MACRA)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced a new funding opportunity for development, improvement and expansion of quality measures for the Quality Payment Program. According to CMS, the program over three years will provide up to $30 million in funding and technical assistance to clinicians, patients and others working on QPP measures. These…
-
Physicians Can Now Apply for Hardship Exception for QPP
Physicians who have insufficient internet connectivity, “extreme and uncontrollable” circumstances or lack of control over the availability of certified electronic health record technology can begin applying for a hardship exception from the Quality Payment Program (QPP) requirement. The exception is for physicians eligible to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Hospital-based physicians are…
-
Free AQAF Assistance: Transition to MACRA’s Quality Payment Program
The Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF), located in Birmingham, is a nonprofit consulting firm providing quality improvement assistance to the health care provider market through contract arrangements. Part of AQAF’s contract with CMS is to provide training to clinicians on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or an…
-
New Video Shows Physicians How to Avoid Medicare Payment Penalties
The Quality Payment Program (QPP) is the new physician payment system created by MACRA and is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Because the QPP is new this year, the Medical Association of the State of Alabama and the AMA want to make sure physicians know what they have to do…
-
Taking CDI Into the Physician Office Setting
CDI, or Clinical Documentation Improvement, is as familiar to physicians who practice in the hospital as other acronyms such as ICU, OR, ED – but in the physician office, CDI is relatively unknown. However, with the implementation of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, or MIPS, CDI in the physician office will become imperative. Most…
-
Meaningful Use and the Costs of Noncompliance
It is something of an understatement to note that the U.S. health care legal landscape is currently experiencing a degree of transition and uncertainty. There is no shortage of changes to discuss, debate, and, perhaps, grow apprehensive about. One development that has been the radar of many physicians for several years now – and brought…
-
CMS Updates Proposed Rule for MACRA; Eases Burden for Some Physicians
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has unveiled a 1,058-page proposed rule updating the Medicare physician payment system implemented under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 with changes to make it easier for small independent and rural practices to participate. The proposed rule would make changes in the second year of…
-
Understanding MACRA: New MACRA Lectures Announced
The Medical Association of the State of Alabama and Warren Averett CPAs and Advisors in conjunction with the several county medical societies will be hosting an in-depth education session on MACRA. CMS has outlined phases for MACRA’s payment models to go into effect, and the first proposed performance reporting period began Jan. 1. This is…
-
Did You Miss the November MACRA Webinar?
If you were unable to attend the free MACRA webinar in November, we have it on-demand for you and your staff! The 90-minute webinar will help you identify strategies to implement in your personal practice to prepare you for the MACRA changes. This webinar will help you describe the role of effective data capture starting…