As noted in a press release published on Wednesday by the Alexandria, Va.-based American Medical Group Association (AMGA), “Crystal Run Healthcare Chief Quality Officer and AMGA Board Member Scott Hines, M.D., today testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on behalf of AMGA. Hines’ testimony urged federal legislators to implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) the way Congress intended and to continue moving Medicare toward value-based payment.” Crystal Run Healthcare is a 450-provider multispecialty medical group based in the Hudson Valley, New York town of Middletown.
The press release noted that hearing, “Medicare Physician Payment Reform after Two Years: Examining MACRA Implementation and the Road Ahead,” called upon testimonies from physicians involved in MACRA to assess how well the legislation has met its goals to improve care quality and value. It also sought to discover which of MACRA’s reforms need to be further improved. Dr. Hines’s written statement can be found here.
“During his testimony, Hines argued that MACRA as it is currently being implemented dis-incentivizes AMGA members from making the multimillion-dollar investments needed to move to payment models based on value,” the press release noted. “He called upon lawmakers to reduce Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) exclusions, lower Alternative Payment Model (APM) thresholds, and extend the APM program beyond 2024.”
“I truly believe Congress passed MACRA to drive the transition to value in Medicare Part B,” said Hines. “However, we have clearly taken a step back from this transition over the past three years by excluding half of eligible clinicians from MIPS and enforcing arbitrary threshold requirements for Advanced APMs. On behalf of AMGA and Crystal Run Healthcare, I affirm that we are ready to work with Congress and CMS [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] to ensure that MACRA can serve its intended purpose in moving our Medicare system to value.”
The press release went on to state that “AMGA appreciates CMS’ desire to transition healthcare to a value-based payment system. However, AMGA has repeatedly voiced concerns over the agency’s willingness to implement policies that do not further MACRA’s intent or potential.” And it quoted Jerry Penso, M.D., AMGA’s president and CEO, as stating that “AMGA is fully committed to transitioning our healthcare system to value, as we believe value-based care is a major step forward for patients and providers. However, MACRA’s full potential cannot be realized as long as prohibitive policies stand in its way. We are hopeful Dr. Hines’ testimony will resonate with lawmakers as they consider the future of MACRA,” Dr. Penso added.
