Important Information about CMS Quality Payment Program
As we’ve discussed in a few forums, Medicare will begin measuring Starling’s performance on January 1, 2017 in anticipation of the January 1st, 2019 introduction of a new payment methodology that will be based on that 2017 performance. The new payment methodology is part of MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) legislation passed by a bipartisan vote in spring of 2016, replacing the formula that had been used to determine Medicare’s physician compensation for many years.
MACRA can be confusing, although for those who have followed CMS’s early efforts in the area of value-based payment (PQRS, Value-Based Modifier, Meaningful Use) MACRA presents a coherent integration of those efforts. For those seeking more information about MACRA, CMS has developed a web page that describes the legislation and its impact on practices in a very accessible way. I recommend that we all take a look; they’ve done a nice job with the overview presented here:
Who’s In?/Who’s Out?
Some of you may have heard that a large number of physicians will not be eligible to participate in MACRA in 2019. A summary of the types of providers who are excluded and the reasons for their exclusion can be found on the following attachment on page 5, published in Part B News by Decision Health on November 7, 2016. Click here to review the report.
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss in more detail.
Tracy King
Chief Integration Officer