New Legislation to Transform Medicare Physician Payment

In April 2015, the President signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (HR 2, also known as MACRA). This law:

• Repeals the Sustainable Growth Rate methodology for determining updates to the Medicare physician fee schedule.
• Establishes annual positive or flat fee updates for 10 years and institutes a two-tracked fee update afterwards.
• Establishes a Merit-Based Incentive Payment System that consolidates existing Medicare fee-for-service physician incentive programs.
• Establishes a pathway for physicians to participate in alternative payment models, including the patient-centered medical home.
• Makes other changes to existing Medicare physician payment statutes.

Preliminary information on the law and what you need to know can be found on the boxes to the right. Additional information, tools, and other resources will be added as the law is implemented.