The American Medical Association (AMA) released on Wednesday new online tools to help providers prepare for the upcoming changes that are happening soon with the finalization of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). MACRA replaced the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)formula and provides annual payment updates instead of annual pay cuts made from the SGR formula. The CMS has made it easier for providers to avoid penalties under MACRA by giving providers three options to report for in 2017.
The AMA’s website provides two online tools, provided with login access, not an AMA membership. The AMA Payment Model Evaluator provides physicians with an assessment of how MACRA will affect their practice. The tool also provides the physicians with a path that can best accommodate the practice, and provides educational resources to help navigate through the changes that will come with MACRA implementation. This tool was developed with input from physicians and partners and was designed to guide physicians and staff members with an assessment of the impact of MACRA on the practice. The tool comes in the form of a short questionnaire which will lead to resources and guidance for participating in the MACRA payment model that best matches the practice based on the questionnaire. The AMA will continually update the AMA Payment Model Evaluator as changes happen to ensure that physicians and their practices are best informed.
The other tool that the AMA is providing on their website is the AMA STEPS Forward. This tool is a collection of strategies that are designed to improve practices and provides MACRA tools. This resource collection has 42 modules for many different topics related to MACRA, such as implementing team-based care, EHR selection and implementation, and provides solutions and implementation guidance, as well as case studies. The STEPS Forward educational module also had tools and resources that can be downloaded directly from the website.
Along with the two valuable MACRA tools, the AMA released a five episode podcast series titled Inside Medicare’s New Payment System, which will feature CMS acting administrator Andy Slavott, AMA staff experts, among many others.
View the two MACRA online tools on the AMA website here.
Read the original article from Healthcare Finance here.
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