AAFP responds to CMS feedback request for alternative payment models.
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Jamie Barrand | Dec 2, 2015

AAFP responds to CMS feedback request for alternative payment models

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act’s (MACRA) merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) and alternative payment models will soon be put in place, and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is calling for the use of more accurate data to determine what a physician is paid and for the simplification of reporting requirements.

”CMS must shun the inaccurate relative value data currently used in the fee-for-service system as the agency implements MIPS and APM programs," Robert Wergin, AAFP's board chair, said. “Despite our strong support for MACRA, the AAFP remains very concerned that the MIPS and APM programs will be built upon the biased and inaccurate relative value data currently used in the fee-for-service system.”

Wergin said AAFP officials wanted more done to make sure primary care providers were paid properly by Medicare. He said CMS would have to “streamline, harmonize and reduce the complexity of quality reporting” in the new payment models.

AAFP officials want to see the elimination of the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), a program based largely on the meeting of reporting requirements.

"The AAFP supports reasonable and achievable quality improvement programs that promote continuous quality improvement and measure patient experiences,” Wergin said. “However, the AAFP opposes an approach that requires physicians to report on a complex set of measures that do not impact or influence the quality of care provided to patients."

Wergin said health care providers also needed assistance with improving their electronic health record (EHR) keeping standards.

“Physicians face significant challenges with their electronic health records and meeting current meaningful use standards," he said. "Until the meaningful use program is improved and the EHR issues are resolved, it is difficult to foresee a large percentage of physicians -- particularly physicians in small and independent practices -- being successful in MACRA programs. EHRs should be a tool for success in a physician’s practice, not an obstacle to overcome.”

More information about AAFP is available online at www.aafp.org.

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