Medicare Releases New Payment Model

Benefits Pro reports, the federal government is gearing up to go big on Medicare reimbursement reform. The finalized new payment rules unveiled by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week amount to a whopping 2,4000 pages, the Associated Press reports.

While doctors have expressed concerns about the implementation of various aspects of the outcome-based reimbursement model, the American Medical Association signaled cautious optimism in response to the final draft of the new rules.

“Our initial review indicates that CMS has been responsive to many of the concerns raised by the AMA, and in the days ahead, the AMA will conduct a comprehensive review of the final rule to ensure that it promotes flexibility and innovation in the delivery of care to help meet the unique needs of all patients,” said the association in a statement, which noted what it saw as improvements over what the administration had previously proposed.

A number of members of Congress signaled ambivalence but stopped short of embracing or denouncing the new regulations.

“Transforming something of this size is something we have focused on with great care,” Andy Slavitt, head of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told the AP. The new regulations will not be fully implemented until 2019.

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Benefits Pro – Medicare releases new payment model