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2 Min Read

Momentum grows for Medicare reform, but time almost out

Only days remain until Congress concludes its “lame duck” session. That’s not much time for lawmakers to address a long agenda—but support is building in the nation’s capital to eliminate Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula this year.

Medicare & Medicaid
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5 Min Read

10 Medicare payment policy revisions you need to know

Chances are you haven’t been able to read through the nearly 1,200 pages that constitute the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule released Oct. 31 and published Thursday in the Federal Register. Here are the 10 top payment policy changes discussed in this mammoth document that you need to know about.

Medicare & Medicaid
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2 Min Read

Initiative minimizes barriers to providing high-quality care

Now that studies have made the reasons behind physicians’ professional satisfaction clear, it’s time to implement solutions that let physicians get back to doing what they want to do most—give high-quality care to patients.

Physician Health
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3 Min Read

Delegates ask for suspension of meaningful use penalties

At the 2014 AMA Interim Meeting, delegates renewed their request that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services suspend penalties for failure to meet meaningful use criteria. The new policy comes on the heels of the recent release of new attestation numbers showing only 2 percent of physicians have demonstrated Stage 2 meaningful use so far this year.

Medicare & Medicaid
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3 Min Read

Seizing the moment to fix Medicare during the lame duck session

Support is growing to finally move Medicare into the 21st century by employing practical solutions to problems that have plagued the system for years, including repealing the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) that has been a failure since it was first enacted.

series
Leadership
Leadership Viewpoints
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2 Min Read

Lawmakers say SGR repeal closer than ever

Congress is closer than ever to passing broadly supported legislative policy that would eliminate Medicare’s flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula—and a permanent solution would come not a moment too soon.

Medicare & Medicaid
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2 Min Read

Time running out to apply for a meaningful use exemption

Physicians have less than a month to apply for a hardship exception for the federal electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use program. Apply by Nov. 30 to avoid next year’s payment adjustments for not demonstrating meaningful use.

Medicare & Medicaid
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3 Min Read

Data doesn't lie-meaningful use needs to change now

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest data detailing how many physicians and hospitals have successfully attested to the electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use program this year.

Medicare & Medicaid
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4 Min Read

Regulatory penalties tsunami could cut doctors' pay by 13 percent

The AMA urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to streamline the competing laws and regulations that threaten access to care in a letter. Physicians providing care to Medicare patients could face a “tsunami” of regulatory penalties over the next 10 years, potentially seeing payments cut by more than 13 percent by the end of the decade.

Sustainability