CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt will testify before a House Ways and Means subcommittee this week on the new reimbursement model for Medicare.
The bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) replaced the much maligned sustainable growth-rate formula. The CMS recently announced details on how MACRA will move providers toward more value-based payments.
Physician groups say small and rural physician practices will have difficulty meeting the infrastructure requirements of MACRA.
They also say specialties are left out of some considerations, and the law's definition of qualifying alternative payment models is too narrow.
Slavitt has said the CMS wants provider feedback to help shape how MACRA is implemented.
In announcing the hearing, Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), Ways and Means health subcommittee chairman, said lawmakers will ask Slavitt how the new program will affect patients and providers.
“By passing MACRA last year, members on both sides of the aisle reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening Medicare for our nation's seniors,” Tiberi said in a statement. “Now it's time to make sure this important law works as intended—improving the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, and providing clarity and certainty for the doctors who serve them.”
