UPDATE – Possible MACRA postponement

Andy Slavitt, CMS acting administrator, met with the Senate Finance Committee on July 13, 2016 and stated CMS will consider a later start date of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).  Currently, MACRA goes into effect on January 1, 2017. The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have both sent letters and urged CMS to delay MACRA on behalf of small groups or single physician practices. The new standards will be difficult for these practices to implement on such a short time frame. Both Slavitt and the Finance Committee agreed that the existing deadline might not be reasonable for physician practices and said CMS is presently looking into alternatives to help small practices make the shift to the new MACRA reporting standards. The final decision about possibly delaying MACRA will not be made until November 1, 2016.