The American Hospital Association has released a tool to assist hospitals and physicians with decision-making under the law known as MACRA.
Called the MACRA Tracker, it classifies 15 different policies in the proposed rule for the new Medicare physician payment system as unlikely to change, possibly could change and likely to change, information that should assist hospital leaders with resource allocation ahead of the final rule and implementation of policies that kick in Jan. 1.
Formally called the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, the law thoroughly revamps how physicians are reimbursed, opening the door to a potentially large number of changes possible, but with not a lot of time to prepare before the law commences after December. A final rule is expected from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services by Nov. 1.
After the final rule is released, the AHA will produce a detailed analysis of what hospitals should consider doing, as well toolkits, videos and more, according to a blog post by Ashley Thompson, senior vice president of public policy analysis and development for the AHA.
