Top 9 issues that will affect physicians in 2016

What issues should you follow closely in the year ahead? Crucial developments will emerge in health care regulations, legislation and the health insurance market—and many of them will profoundly impact your practice and patients. Taking a look ahead, we’ve identified nine of the top issues you’ll want to watch in 2016.

1.  Medicare reform. The elimination of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula with the passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act in 2015 was a giant leap forward for Medicare reform. The law paves the way for important payment reforms. The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) under development is intended to streamline the various reporting programs for physicians, and alternative payment models (APM) will support physicians in adopting new models of care.

Shaping the MIPS so that it fixes the problems of the current system and is beneficial for both physicians and patients will be at the heart of Medicare reform efforts in the coming year. The AMA will continue its work, which includes a task force of physicians from various states and specialties who already drafted and delivered to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 10 principles to guide the foundation of the MIPS, which will streamline requirements for quality, electronic health records (EHR) and resource use.

The AMA also will offer additional resources to help physicians successfully participate in the new system. One resource you can check out ...

Source: AMA Wire - January 5, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Troy Parks Source Type: news