The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recently released its own recommendations for the incoming application of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
This act is significant throughout the medical industry because it allows Medicare to handle its payments to physicians very differently.
AAFP and 40 other medical organizations have united to guarantee that the details of the act will be a benefit to doctors throughout the U.S. These organizations include the American College of Physicians, the AMA and the American Osteopathic Association.
The organizations recently wrote a letter to Andy Slavitt, the CMS acting administrator, to express their plans.
"Our collective goal is to ensure the implementation of MACRA does not create an overly prescriptive, time-consuming and complex federal approval process for clinical quality improvement and APMs, as this could undermine existing programs that are already extraordinarily effective in improving care and containing costs," officials said in the letter.
Together, the organizations have presented CMS with four different recommendations that are specific to alternative payment models (APMs) as well as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
"Ensuring a broad variety of APMs that suit local markets and the diversity of physician practice -- including both primary care and other specialties -- is essential to achieving the goals of this program," officials said.
The organizations’ recommendations include guaranteeing that MACRA doesn’t interrupt positive benefits to patients, flexibility for public and private sector APMs without conflicting requirements and rules that give doctors and patients the freedom to innovate.
