Medicare Physician Payment

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) sought to stabilize physician payment rates in the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) system and incentivize physicians to move into new value-based payment models. Despite its positive intent, the quality component of the program has proved burdensome and costly due to excessive reporting requirements and inadequate alternative payment model (APM) participation options. Under MACRA’s revised methodology for annually updating the Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS), physician payments have not kept up with inflation or the cost of running a medical practice.