Tag: MACRA
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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New Quality Payment Program Resources Available
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has revamped the look of the Quality Payment Program website and posted new resources to help you successfully participate in your first year of the Quality Payment Program. CMS encourages you to visit the website to review the following new resources: MIPS Quick Start Guide Outlines the steps…
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Questions about Your MIPS Participation Status?
UPDATED MAY 18, 2017 — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced all physicians required to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System will receive notification of their participation status by the end of May. With the program already underway, status letters are considered by many to be long overdue. CMS recently sent letters to…
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Medical Association Urges CMS to Reduce EHR and MU Burden on Physicians
The Medical Association has joined forces with the American Medical Association, Medical Group Management Association and 85 other medical groups to urge Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to reduce electronic health record and meaningful use requirements on physicians. In a letter to new CMS Administrator Seema Verma, the groups first welcomed the new administration’s…
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Opinion: All Americans Need Access to Affordable, Quality Care
Editorial contributed by John Meigs Jr., M.D., president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, member of the Medical Association Board of Censors, and a family physician in Centreville, Ala. Editorial reprinted by permission. Since Election Day, health care analysts have tried to forecast the fate of our health care system. Much remains uncertain, but…
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ABCs of MACRA
MACRA may sound like a word jumble with terms like MIPS, APM, QPP, ACI, CPS, VBP, and so on. Unfortunately, a majority of physicians are unaware of how this new payment system will affect their practices, so making sense of these acronyms is just the beginning. MACRA did more than replace the Sustainable Growth Rate…