Get Help With MACRA Payment Reform

The federal government released its final rule on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) this past October, and reform of the Medicare payment system went into effect January 1. APA wants to help participating members adjust to this landmark transformation of the way physicians are paid for their services.

Analysis by APA staff of the final rule implementing MACRA indicates that the “low-volume threshold” defining the minimum patient volume required for clinicians to report is high enough to exempt many psychiatrists—particularly those in small group practices—from reporting in the first year. Specifically, a clinician or practice group that has “Medicare Part B allowed charges less than or equal to $30,000 or provides care for 100 or fewer Part B–enrolled Medicare beneficiaries” is exempt from reporting.

Nevertheless, it is wise for members to educate themselves about MACRA. To this end, APA has created a web-based toolkit to help members understand and meet the requirements of MACRA and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The APA Payment Reform Toolkit includes the following resources:

• MACRA 101 Primer.

• Detailed fact sheets on MIPS reporting categories.

• A series of webinars designed to walk members through the nuts and bolts of how to be successful quality reporters and use the data to inform clinical practice.

The toolkit and webinars can be accessed at APA’s Payment Reform website. ■