CMS should work to align quality and performance standards across all Medicare programs, including Medicare Advantage (MA) and the Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) initiatives, says AMGA. In a letter issued in response to proposed changes to MA and Medicare Part D, AMGA President and CEO Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, argued that more standardization across…
In late October, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care, the largest health system in the state, and its affiliated Medicare accountable care organization (ACO), Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care, Inc., realized $60.6 million worth of cost savings in 2016. Ranking second in savings of 432…
New medical billing codes for non-face-to-face encounters and alternative payment models are trying to change the way Medicare reimburses for primary care, according to researchers at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center. The report, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showed that CMS aims to find the right payment amount and structure to reimburse…