News Release

Rheumatology community responds to MACRA proposed rule

Business Announcement

American College of Rheumatology

ATLANTA - The American College of Rheumatology today released a statement about the highly anticipated proposed rule on the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and its impact on the rheumatology community. MACRA replaces the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and represents a significant shift in how rheumatologists are reimbursed for the Medicare services they provide.

"The importance of rheumatology care to our nation's Medicare program cannot be overstated," said Joan Von Feldt, MD, MSEd, President of the American College of Rheumatology.

"Rheumatic diseases are the nation's leading cause of disability and cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $128 billion annually. Given the growing demand for rheumatology care and the shortage of rheumatology specialists available to provide care to Medicare patients, it is imperative that the new payment system and reporting requirements be simple, transparent, and tenable - especially for small and rural rheumatology providers. We are therefore encouraged to see that CMS has included provisions in the proposed rule that reduce quality reporting burdens, offer clarity on how to qualify for an Alternative Payment Model (APM), define the components of Merit-Based Incentive Programs (MIPs), encourage the use of Qualified Clinical Data Registries (QCDRs) such as the ACR's RISE registry, and provide some flexibility in terms of outcome measures."

The full statement can be viewed on the ACR website, and a number of resources designed to help rheumatologists understand and prepare for MACRA are now available at http://www.rheumatology.org/macra.

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The American College of Rheumatology is an international medical society representing over 9,400 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals with a mission to Advance Rheumatology! In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatologists are experts in the diagnosis, management and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases. For more information, visit http://www.rheumatology.org.


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