LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CAPG President and CEO Donald Crane issued the following statement on today’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) blog post announcing new flexibility in its implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). CMS will allow physicians four different options for MACRA participation, including starting in January 2017.
"We are pleased that the agency has taken into account the feedback of physician groups who are ready to go with MACRA implementation in January. CAPG has been calling on CMS to allow physician practices to begin MACRA performance in January 2017 as originally scheduled. This will ensure that the landmark law’s momentum, which began by passing the Congress with wide-sweeping bipartisan support, continues to carry weight in the right direction – toward implementation.
“The announcement comes as physician practices across the country await the agency's final regulation expected this fall. We also appreciate CMS taking this step to provide additional clarity to the physician community as we await the final rule.
“As CMS considers additional flexibility for physicians and physician groups in support of the law, CAPG urges the agency to consider a solution that would allow more physicians to qualify as advanced alternative payment models (APMs) based on all of their Medicare risk contracting, both in Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part B. Making MACRA work for physicians and patients requires equal treatment of alternative payment arrangements across the entire Medicare payment system, not just traditional Medicare.
“We look forward to continuing this conversation with CMS to ensure that MACRA works for all of our nation’s physicians, including those providing care to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, who account for nearly one-third of Medicare-eligible individuals.”
About CAPG
CAPG is the nation’s leading association for and the voice of physician organizations practicing capitated, coordinated care. Its membership comprises approximately 250 multispecialty medical groups and independent practice associations (IPAs) across 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. CAPG members strongly believe that comprehensive, accountable, risk-based coordinated care provides the highest quality, most efficient delivery, and greatest value for patients. Our members have successfully operated under this budget-responsible model for more than two decades. For more information, please visit http://capg.org.