The American Society of Dermatopathology

AMA Provides Tools to Prepare for Payment Policy Changes

5/4/2016
Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) one year ago. This law repealed the threat of annual payment cuts from the sustainable growth rate formula, and it now offers physicians treating Medicare patients a choice of two payment pathways going forward:
 
 
  • Participating in the modified fee-for-service model, which will be subject to a revised set of pay-for-performance metrics under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)
  • Meeting requirements for alternative payment models (APM), which offer opportunities to improve care delivery while having more payment flexibility
Navigating changes with substantial financial consequences for practices and implications for how care is delivered to patients will require preparation, sound guidance and adaptation.
To help you in your initial preparations for the coming payment policies, the AMA offers a guide to physician-focused payment models, key points of MIPS and five things you can do now to prepare, among other resources. The AMA's STEPS Forward™ collection of practice improvement strategies also offers a variety of education modules to help physicians take steps toward advancing team-based care, implementing electronic health records, improving care and practicing value-based care.