Premier Offers Recommendations to Strengthen MACRA and Advance Alternative Payment Models
In response to a request from Reps. Greg Murphy (RNC), John Joyce (RPA) and Kim Schrier (DWA), Premier submitted a set of recommendations to support the development of legislation that accelerates the nation’s transition to value-based care. Premier outlined several opportunities to strengthen the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and expand incentives for providers to participate in alternative payment models (APMs).
In its detailed feedback, Premier urged Congress to:
Reinstate the expired advanced alternative payment model (APM) bonus for multiple years;
Grant CMS authority to adjust the Qualifying APM Participant (QP) threshold;
Direct CMS to address burdensome quality reporting and promoting interoperability requirements for accountable care organizations (ACOs);
Strengthen the Medicare Shared Saving Program (MSSP);
Require stronger oversight of fraud/waste/abuse and the impact to providers participating in total cost of care APMs;
Set clear parameters for moving beyond testing to nationally scale successful models;
Extend the scoring window to more accurately capture savings from preventive health initiatives;
Eliminate cost sharing for attributed beneficiaries who require chronic care management to ease the financial burden and encourage beneficiaries to seek out care management;
Establish flexibilities to develop rural-specific APMs; and
Bolster physician payment by accounting for inflation.
