The ACR provides an online resource center that gives members up-to-date MACRA information and guidance. Our MACRA Road Show reviews the ins and outs of MACRA, MIPS and APMs and has been presented in many venues across 22 states. We expect a final MACRA rule by November, and once released, updated guidance will be provided to members. In the meantime, reach out to the College at [email protected] if you want the MACRA Road Show to come to your area. Watch your email for ACR MACRAlerts. If you see one of these messages, review it and forward to your colleagues. The MACRAlerts will contain high-yield information for your practice. Get involved, prepare, and share your experiences, so we can all learn together.
Part B Drug Payment Demonstration Project
As you know, this past March the CMS proposed an initiative to lower the reimbursement rate for Medicare Part B drugs. The policy is intended to test whether alternative drug payment designs will reduce Medicare expenditures while ensuring quality of care. This proposal could further cut payments for Part B drugs. This could have devastating effects on Medicare patients who rely on biologics by making access to these therapies even more difficult. The initial phase of the demonstration would cut payments from Average Sales Price (ASP) plus 6% to ASP plus 2.5% and a flat fee of $16.80 per drug per day (minus cuts resulting from the budget sequester mandated by the Budget Control Act).
As currently proposed, the demonstration project is dangerously broad in scope and fundamentally flawed. The ACR is calling for several exemptions from the demonstration project if it is not withdrawn: for physician practices with 25 or fewer physicians, for rural and medically underserved areas and for therapeutic classes of drugs and biologics that have no equally effective cheaper alternatives.
The ACR is working in collaboration with physician societies and patient groups, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Arthritis Foundation (AF). The ACR work includes:
- Authored resolutions in the AMA House of Delegates;
- Capitol Hill meetings, with more than 200 meetings held so far;
- Discussions with CMS leaders; and
- Op-eds with placements inside the beltway and in such publications as The Wall Street Journal.
The ACR has also engaged members and patients through newsletters, blast emails and social media; coordinating letters to the editor from members and patients, with more than 40 letters published across the country; and facilitating messages to legislators, with more than 5,000 emails sent.