IDSA Weighs in as Capitol Hill Looks at MACRA Improvements and ID Compensation

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee held a hearing last week on implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

IDSA provided specific feedback on those issues in a letter to the subcommittee with an emphasis on policies needed to allow ID physicians to meaningfully participate in new payment models focused on quality of care. The letter also highlighted the importance of ensuring that ID physician compensation accurately reflects the complexity of care ID physicians provide and is sufficient to attract the next generation of physicians to the subspecialty.

Implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs is a key area of MIPS in which ID physicians will be particularly able to participate in a meaningful way. We believe that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should designate stewardship as a high weighted improvement activity under MIPS, given its direct impact on patient care, safety, and health. 

IDSA continues to stress that the current undervaluation of evaluation and management (E/M) codes, which account for over 90 percent of ID physician patient care, must be addressed in order for payment reform activities included in MACRA to achieve their goals on quality and value of patient care.

IDSA will continue working with Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to promote policies that will drive fair and accurate compensation, including provisions that will allow ID physicians to meaningfully participate in new quality-based payment programs, to help secure the future of the IDworkforce.