AMA responds to CMS' final Medicare (MACRA) rule

The American Medical Association (AMA) today released the following statement in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rule on Medicare payment and delivery reform, as created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA):

“The AMA acknowledges the commitment by Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt and his senior team at CMS for listening to physician concerns and taking several concrete steps to help them adjust to this new Medicare payment framework,” said AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, MD. “By announcing the ‘Pick Your Pace’ approach to give physicians greater flexibility and increased options for participating in MACRA in 2017, HHS Secretary Burwell and Acting Administrator Slavitt took a significant step last month to address AMA concerns about the original proposal. The final rule includes additional steps to help small and rural practices by raising the low volume threshold exemption, and practices of all sizes will benefit from reduced MIPS reporting requirements.