The American Medical Association has criticized the new Medicare payment schedule proposed rule released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, saying it fails to account for inflation in practice costs and “COVID-19-related challenges to practice sustainability.” The proposed 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) conversion factor is $33.08, a decrease of $1.53…
Jack Resneck, Jr., MD, a dermatologist from San Rafael, California, was inaugurated here Tuesday as the 177th president of the American Medical Association (AMA). Resneck began his inaugural address by admitting that initially he had had some trepidation about taking the position, given “so much pain and despair in the last 2 years, in the…
More than 200 healthcare organizations, including America’s Physician Groups (APG) and the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), have urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make adjustments to the Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model instead of canceling the program. In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the groups stressed that shutting down the Direct…
A group of eight national healthcare associations this week called on the U.S. Congress to help move the movement around alternative payment models (APMs) forward, noting the sluggish uptake in participation among providers. The eight groups are the American Medical Association (AMA), AMGA (the American Medical Group Association), America’s Physician Groups (APG), the Association of…
A group of eight healthcare organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA) and National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), have asked Congress to increase their efforts in promoting value-based care and alternative payment model (APM) adoption. In a letter sent to the Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, the organizations highlighted…
The lawmakers claim direct contracting is a Trump-era privatization tactic that has removed millions of seniors from Traditional Medicare without their knowledge or consent. More than 50 lawmakers led by US Representative Pramila Jayapa urged the Biden administration to discontinue the Medicare Direct Contracting (DC) program and transition Medicare beneficiaries into the Traditional Medicare model. In a letter written to HHS…
Patients prefer home monitoring for chronic disease management or detection over other in-person and remote patient monitoring options, according to data from the American Heart Association. The research presented at AHA’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2021 gave critical insight into how healthcare providers can best flag high blood pressure to confirm diagnosis, a key sticking point in the…
Patients and physicians like telehealth and want it to continue after the pandemic comes to an end, according to one of the largest studies to examine the mode of practice during COVID-19. But there’s work to be done to make the most of the technology going forward. The AMA collaborated with the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition—comprised…
For the first time, most physicians worked outside of physician-owned practices in 2020, as doctors continue to gravitate toward employment by hospitals and other organizations, according to a new American Medical Association survey. The trade group’s latest Physician Practice Benchmark Survey found that 49.1% of patient care physicians worked in physician-owned practices in 2020, a…
Citing the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, 10 leading healthcare organizations are urging CMS not to move forward with changes to how accountable care organizations and other alternative payment models are assessed on quality in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the merit-based incentive payment system. The proposed changes are in the 2021 proposed physician fee schedule….