Chair, ACG Practice Management Committee
ACG Members: Need Help with MACRA?
ACG’s MACRA website not only hosts the various MIPS and APM requirements, and payment updates, but also lists each measure and activity you can choose to report. This includes the MIPS Quality Category, the Improvement Activities Category, as well as the Advancing Care Information Category.
ACG Guidance on Moderate Sedation Changes- What do you need to know?
As ACG and the GI societies informed you in 2016, CMS announced new changes regarding moderate sedation beginning 2017. Check out ACG’s Moderate Summary and Educational Tool. ACG has created a summary of these changes and a chart of impacted codes.
ACG Members: 2016 Meaningful Use Attestation Period (Jan 3 – Feb 28)
CMS announced that the attestation period for the 2016 reporting year is now open for those ACG members who have participated in the 2016 Medicare Meaningful Use Program. The attestation period will end on Feb. 28. Providers must attest by the deadline to avoid a 2018 payment adjustment. CMS has released attestation worksheets as a guide to prepare for reporting for 2016 Meaningful Use attestation. Providers can log their Meaningful Use measures for each objective in the worksheet and use it as a reference when attesting for the Medicare 2016 Meaningful Use Program in CMS’ Registration and Attestation System.
ACG Members: CMS waiving the 2018 PQRS payment adjustments due to ICD-10 Transition
CMS is waiving the 2018 PQRS payment adjustments to physicians that failed to “satisfactorily report for 2016 solely as a result of the impact of ICD-10 code updates on quality data reported for the fourth quarter of 2016.” It is important to note that the safe harbor is only eligible for physicians who failed to meet reporting because of ICD-10 codes. CMS will not apply the 2018 PQRS payment adjustments to any physician or group practice that fails to satisfactorily report for CY 2016, solely as a result of the impact of ICD-10 code updates on quality data reported for the 4th quarter of CY 2016. Under PQRS, calendar year (CY) 2016 is the performance period for the following:
2018 PQRS and Value Modifier payment adjustments. The Value Modifier program will consider solo practitioners and groups, identified by their taxpayer identification number (TIN), who meet reporting requirements to be “Category 1,” meaning they will not incur the automatic downward adjustment under the Value Modifier program.
Michael S. Morelli, M.D., CPE, FACG
Chair, ACG Practice Management Committee