From the January/February 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
The medical device community worked hard to have a two-year reprieve of the medical device tax included in the year-end Tax Extenders legislation that Congress passed on Dec.18, 2015, for 2016 and 2017. This, plus the permanent extension of the research and development tax credit, is welcome relief, with resources now available to move imaging technology to the next level.
The other activity that is starting to accelerate with the end of the year is the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, also known as “MACRA.” This legislation repealed the Sustainable Growth Rate and put into place new payment program options for physicians, either the Merit Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or the opportunity to participate in an Alternative Payment Model (APMs). Both program options would start for the 2019 payment year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has started to issue various reports and proposals for comment.
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CMS also (per Section 1019f of MACRA) issued a request for comments on episode groups, and on specific clinical criteria and patient characteristics to classify patients into care episode and patient condition groups. Comments should be sent to episodegroups@cms.hhs.gov by 11:59 pm EST on Feb. 15, 2016. Several of the medical conditions selected include the provision of imaging services.
CMS has also posted its draft Quality Measure Development Plan [https://www.cms. gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment- Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs.html]. The Measure Development Plan isa strategic framework for future clinician quality measurement development. The Measure Development Plan outlines how CMS will draw from its existing quality measure development experience to build measure portfolios for use in the MIPS and APMs programs.
CMS is taking comments, questions or thoughts by March 1, 2016, either online [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/26NYQRB]; via the MDP dedicated email address [MACRA-MDP@hsag.com]; or by U.S. mail [Attn: Eric Gilbertson, CMS MACRA Team; Health Services Advisory Group, Inc.; 3133 East Camelback Road, Suite 240; Phoenix, AZ 85016-4545].
About the author: Jill Rathbun is managing partner at Galileo Consulting Group in Arlington, Virginia. She will be commenting for HealthCare Business News on issues of interest to health care professionals.Back to HCB News
