Federal lawmakers should do more to ensure that the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act is implemented in the way Congress intended when the legislation passed in 2015, a medical trade group told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
"Congressional passage of MACRA aimed to bring more stability to Medicare physician reimbursement by granting providers predictable payments, until this year, when two new systems would be fully implemented: the Merit-based Incentive Payment System and Advanced Alternative Payment Models," AMGA board member Scott Hines, MD, told the Senate panel May 8.
"AMGA members … have invested considerable time and resources to deliver the best possible care while embarking on this pathway to value and have concerns with the implementation of these two systems," Dr. Hines said.
AMGA represents 450 multispecialty medical groups and integrated delivery systems nationwide.
Dr. Hines, who also is chief quality officer of Middletown, N.Y.-based Crystal Run Healthcare, was among the physicians who offered insight on how the reauthorization act is improving care and improvements that can me made in its implementation.
He said the act isn't being implemented in a way to make providers want to invest millions to build a value-based platform. He also said high-performing providers are losing money as a result of the current implementation of the reauthorization act.
Dr. Hines also urged Congress to lower alternative payment model thresholds and extend the alternative payment model program beyond 2024.
Read the full written testimony here.
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