On May 31, ASAM signed on to a letter authored by the AMA asking Congress to further refine the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). While MACRA vastly improved the flawed sustainable growth rate payment methodology and legacy quality and cost reporting programs, there remains room for improvement in many of its policies. ASAM urges Congress to implement positive payment adjustments for physicians to replace the payment freeze over the next six years, extend the Advanced APM bonus payments for an additional six years, and implement several additional technical improvements to MACRA. ASAM appreciates the culture of cooperation that CMS has cultivated while implementing MACRA and looks forward to continuing to serve as a resource for further refinement.   

Read the letter here.