On October 14, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule that implements the Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP) called for in MACRA.
The MACRA final regulation includes several policies that are the direct result of the American Academy of Family Physicians advocacy efforts. In particular, the “Pick Your Pace” policy includes the option of a 90-day reporting period in 2017. In comparison, the proposed rule called for a full calendar year reporting period. Additionally, if a practice participates in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program (no matter how long), there will be no penalty in 2019. Another success the AAFP advocated for is the granting of all physicians participating in the Medicare program to receive a 0.5% update in payments for services provided in 2017.
- MIPS
- Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs)
- If you decide to participate in an Advanced APM through Medicare Part B, you may earn an incentive payment for participating in an innovative payment model.
The AAFP created an executive summary of this final rule and will post additional resources on the AAFP’s MACRA Ready website. Also, read the latest issue of In the Trenches to learn additional details.