CMS Adopts Four Options to Comply with MACRA
- By BSTQ Staff
In response to concerns by physicians and other clinicians about their readiness to comply with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), which began Jan. 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised implementation requirements by adopting four options that will allow providers to choose the level and pace at which they comply. The first option allows providers to avoid a negative payment adjustment in order to ease providers into broader participation. The second option allows providers to submit data for a reduced number of days, with their first performance period beginning later than Jan. 1 while still qualifying for a small payment if data is submitted about how the practice is using technology and improving. The third option, which is for practices that are ready, is to begin on Jan. 1 within the provisions of the Act. And, the final option is to participate in an advanced alternative payment model such as a Medicare Shared Savings accountable care organization.
“The action that the administration announced today will help give physicians a fair shot in the first year of MACRA implementation. This is the flexibility that physicians were seeking all along,” said Andrew Gurman, MD, president of the American Medical Association.
