MACRA is coming—are cardiologists ready?
MACRA—the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015—will impact all of healthcare on the macro level. The program, which CMS believes will change payment from a volume-based system to one focused on value, will have major implications for cardiologists.
Lauren Gilstrap, MD, MPH, and Karen Joynt, MD, MPH, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, took a look at MACRA in the letter published online July 26 in JAMA Cardiology.
The Quality Payment Program (QPP), a two-track system of physician payment, will increase reporting requirements from cardiologists, increasing the value of electronic health records. The authors also note performance ratings could be an issue for cardiologists, with the potential for well-performing practices to be penalized by CMS.
“For better or worse, given its overwhelming bipartisan support, MACRA appears to be here to stay for at least the foreseeable future,” Gilstrap and Joynt wrote. “As cardiologists, we will be on the frontlines observing its real-world effect—good and bad, intended and unforeseen—on all of our patients, healthy and sick alike.”
The letter is available for free at JAMA Cardiology.
Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.