The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), passed earlier this year, repealed the fundamentally flawed Sustainable Growth Rate formula and introduced significant changes in how Medicare will pay oncologists for the care they provide in the coming years. The new law will be fully implemented by 2019 and will profoundly impact reimbursement and care delivery for oncology practices throughout the United States—and now is the time to understand and prepare for these changes.
MACRA will require all oncology practices to transform in two major ways: (1) how they conduct Medicare reporting requirements, and (2) how they are paid for the services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The ultimate goal of these changes is to move toward a value-based practice environment that ensures high-quality, affordable health care. ASCO has long embraced this goal and has dedicated significant resources that will provide oncologists with the foundation needed to move into the MACRA era.
Guided by a committed group of volunteers, ASCO will be a partner to oncologists in MACRA implementation and will provide a wide range of resources and tools that are designed to help adapt to and satisfy MACRA requirements. ASCO will also aggressively advocate that provisions in the law are implemented in a manner that reflects the current realities of cancer care enabling oncologists to provide the full range of services and high-quality care, which patients with cancer need to fight their disease.
Please visit ASCO’s new website at www.asco.org/macra to learn more about MACRA and its impact on oncology care and to see to a number of educational and practical resources from ASCO in the coming months. This site will be continually updated with new information, so please bookmark this page and visit often to get the latest updates, new materials, and dates for upcoming webinars.
Read the ASCO in Action MACRA brief at http://www.asco.org/advocacy/asco-action-brief-macra for a high-level overview of the new legislation and its impact on practices, and be sure to follow ASCO in Action at http://www.asco.org/advocacy/news for the latest cancer policy news. ■
© 2015. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
