AHA shares MACRA proposed rule concerns with Senate committee

The Senate Finance Committee today held a hearing to examine how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes to implement physician payment reforms under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. In a statement submitted to the committee, AHA said it supports a number of policies in the agency’s recent proposed rule for the physician quality payment program but significant changes are needed. Specifically, AHA said the program should include an expanded definition of advanced alternative payment models that recognizes the substantial investments needed to launch and operate APM arrangements. It also called for a quality and resource use measure reporting option in which hospital-based physicians can use CMS hospital quality program measure performance in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System. In addition, AHA said the program should include a socioeconomic adjustment in the calculation of performance as needed; and alignment between the hospital meaningful use program and the advancing care information category of the MIPS, and simplified ACI requirements. AHA also urged Congress to consider changes to the fraud and abuse laws “to allow hospitals and physicians to work together to achieve the important goals of new payment models – improving quality, outcomes and efficiency in the delivery of patient care.”