Conference Coverage

VIDEO: When is it time to jump into MACRA with both feet?


 

EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM THE ANNUAL PERSPECTIVES IN RHEUMATIC DISEASES

References

LAS VEGAS – Change in federal reimbursement for physicians is coming. Though the change is inevitable, physicians still have to weigh choices about when they might want to jump in with both feet, since entry into the full incentive payment system will be optional – for a time.

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is “basically a reorganization of all of these disparate reward and penalty systems” that have existed within the federal health care reimbursement landscape, said Joseph S. Eastern, MD. “The idea was to collect them all within one system.”

The new system is called the Medicare Incentive Payment System, or MIPS. Physicians are already familiar with many MIPS components, including meaningful use of the electronic health record, “which everybody thought was going away, but it isn’t,” said Dr. Eastern, a dermatologist in private practice in Belleville, N.J., who’s affiliated with Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J. Also included are the Physician Quality Reimbursement System (PQRS) and the value-based modifier system.

MIPS is designed so that “you’ll either get a reward or a penalty depending on how well you do, compared with other physicians,” said Dr. Eastern, speaking at the annual Perspectives in Rheumatic Diseases held by Global Academy for Medical Education.

The alternative, he said, is to opt for one of the Alternative Payment Models, or APMs. However, details about APMs are “really up in the air, because a lot of them have either not been doing very well, or have not been very well defined,” so that physicians often don’t currently have enough data to make an informed choice. He expects the APM landscape to sort out over the next year or two.

Opting not to comply and take the 1%-3% cut in Medicare reimbursement associated with noncompliance might make sense for just a few physicians, though it might seem tempting, Dr. Eastern said in a video interview. Since the penalties will escalate significantly over the next few years, he feels that only physicians who are considering retiring soon or selling their practices should consider opting out.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

The video associated with this article is no longer available on this site. Please view all of our videos on the MDedge YouTube channel.

koakes@frontlinemedcom.com

On Twitter @karioakes

Recommended Reading

ACOs score slight bump in bonus payments
MDedge Neurology
CMS offers lower-stress reporting options for MACRA in 2017
MDedge Neurology
10 tips to mitigate legal risks of opioid prescribing
MDedge Neurology
Study: One hour with patients means two hours on EHR
MDedge Neurology
Getting prior lab results is worth the effort
MDedge Neurology
Health sector claims 4 spots among top 10 lobbyers in 2016
MDedge Neurology
Medical boards investigating negligence
MDedge Neurology
VIDEO: Medical apps will disrupt health care in a good way
MDedge Neurology
EHR woes will get worse before they get better: ONC chief
MDedge Neurology
Legislators: Investigate Medicare fraud before paying doctors
MDedge Neurology