Physicians to ask for streamlined performance reporting at Tuesday MACRA hearing
The focus of Tuesday's hearing is on what medical practices need to do to successfully implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.
A single, coordinated approach to performance reporting is needed to make promised Medicare payment reforms work, the American Medical Association and other physician groups are expected to tell lawmakers Tuesday morning during a Subcommittee on Health hearing on Capitol Hill.
The focus of Tuesday's hearing is on what medical practices need to do, and what they need to have, to successfully implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act which passed last year.
"Currently, physicians view measurement as burdensome, inaccurate, and often outdated," Barbara L. McAneny, MD, immediate past chair of the American Medical Association, said in a prepared statement ahead of Tuesday's hearing. "Reporting requirements are also extremely costly, with estimates finding that practices spend more than 700 hours per physician and more than $15.4 billion dollars to report quality measures."
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"Quality measurement reporting and data requirements should be standardized across payer type to avoid duplication," said Jeffrey Bailet, MD, president Aurora Health Care Medical Group.
Bailet recommended, among other suggestions, that providers have full access to claims data and data exchange formats be standardized.
MACRA replaced the sustainable growth rate, and its passage helped physicians avoid a 21.2 percent pay cut to that was scheduled to go into effect under SGR.
A key factor in physician support for MACRA was the law's promise to create a new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System that, unlike the existing structure, established a single, coordinated approach to performance reporting, McAneny said.
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The meaningful use program in its current form remains particularly challenging due to technology that fails to perform as promised and measures that are beyond the control of physicians, she said.
"Given that meaningful use performance constitutes 25 percent of the overall MIPS score, it is vital that this program does not become a barrier to overall success under the new performance program," she said.
With respect to alternative payment models, the AMA believes success will depend on whether models are readily available for all practices, McAneny said. Particularly in the early years of MACRA, the AMA believes the agency should take an expansive definition of financial risk to promote broad physician participation.
"If CMS defines financial risk too narrowly, it will only recognize the most advanced practices and risks slowing momentum towards adopting new models," she said.
In addition, there needs to be a recognition of the significant up-front investments and ongoing costs that must be incurred to develop and implement these new models, she said.
MACRA provides for updates to the fee schedule of 0.5 percent from July 2015 through 2019. After that, services on the physician fee schedule remain at the 2019 level to be adjusted based on a provider's participation in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, or a qualifying alternative payment model.
In 2019, quality incentive programs, including the Physician Quality Reporting System, Meaningful Use, and the value-based payment modifier will be combined and streamlined into one value-based payment system, according to federal information on the hearing.
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The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System will become the sole quality reporting system for eligible professionals who will see their reimbursement adjusted based on four categories: quality (30 percent); resource use (30 percent); meaningful use (25 percent); and clinical practice improvement activities (15 percent).
The hearing is scheduled for at 10:15 a.m.
Other testimony is expected from Robert McLean, M.D., chair of the Medical Practice and Quality Committee, American College of Physicians; and Robert L. Wergin, M.D., board chair, American Academy of Family Physicians.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
