WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 280 physician groups and independent practice associations sent a letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that the Medicare Advantage program is funded wisely and appropriately. The campaign was organized by CAPG, the leading U.S. association representing physician organizations practicing coordinated care.
Medicare Advantage (MA) provides a valuable source of high quality, coordinated care for nearly a third of Medicare enrollees. In addition, Medicare Advantage is an important component of delivery system reform.
The letter notes that MA is “a critically important foundation” for reaching the value goals set by Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell for moving traditional Medicare into alternative payment models (APMs). The signers commend CMS in taking the first step to recognize APMs in Medicare Advantage by beginning to collect information from health plans about how those plans pay physicians.
The letter then urges the agency to take that proposal a step further and to “offer the same incentives for movement to APMs in MA as those offered in traditional Medicare….As physician organizations move into risk-bearing arrangements, sufficient updates to MA are necessary to support delivery system transformation and better care for beneficiaries.”
CMS made a number of other proposals this year that will impact physician organizations in Medicare Advantage in different ways. The physician organizations on the letter recommended that CMS use caution when implementing new policies that could potentially disrupt coordinated care systems.
The physician organizations called on CMS to make “policy decisions that support a strong future for this important Medicare option.” The final policies are expected on April 4.
CAPG is the nation’s largest professional association representing physician organizations delivering capitated, clinically integrated health services. The organization’s 210-plus member groups employ and/or contract with physicians who provide healthcare services to millions of patients in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. CAPG members are committed to providing high quality, affordable healthcare. To learn more, visit capg.org.