For Immediate Release
September 10, 2015
Washington, D.C.—CAPG, the leading U.S. trade association for physician organizations practicing capitated, coordinated care, submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule.
The Proposed Rule is the first major agency rulemaking since the enactment of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) last April. In addition to repealing the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, MACRA sets out two paths for the future of physician payment. One option is the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which maintains fee-for-service payment but ties a greater percentage of payment to quality, efficiency, meaningful use, and clinical practice improvement. The second is an Alternative Payment Model (APM) path.
In the Proposed Rule, CMS begins to implement this new payment system for physicians and physician organizations in Traditional Medicare.
“Today, CAPG begins to provide guidance and feedback to CMS as the agency implements the future of physician payment under MACRA,” said Donald H. Crane, CAPG’s president and CEO. “The shaping of these two paths forward will be critical to meeting the goals of transforming Medicare from a payer for volume to a payer for value.”
In addition to its comments surrounding MACRA implementation, CAPG submitted comments on numerous other areas, including Physician Compare, the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and improving payment accuracy for primary care and care management services.
The Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule is expected later this year. CAPG is also awaiting the release of a request for information on MACRA, anticipated to be released this fall.
View the letter here.
