With all the talk of the Affordable Care Act’s uncertain future, it is easy to forget about the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (“MACRA”), a bipartisan law passed by Congress in 2015 to change the way physicians will be reimbursed by Medicare. MACRA is a complex and confusing law. A new study published by Health Affairs in April 2017, which used the RAND Corporation’s Health Care Payment and Delivery Simulation Model (the “Study”), has estimated the potential effects of MACRA payment models on physician and hospital Medicare reimbursement revenue. The results: uncertain.
Continue Reading The Financial Impact of MACRA – Uncertainty Reigns in a Recent RAND Corporation Study

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is expected to drastically change how physicians are paid by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Under the proposed rule, physicians will be given the choice between two payment models: alternative payment models (APMs) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).  CMS predicts a majority of physicians will elect to follow MIPS when the new payment models go into effect in January 2019.
Continue Reading CMS Redefines Alternative Payment Models and Offers Option for Merit-Based Incentive Payment System in New Proposed Rule