MACRA is happening in January, and Direct Care is waiting with arms wide open.
Okay, let’s backtrack. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is expected to result in penalties for 59% of physicians in practices that have fewer than 25 clinicians. But what exactly is MACRA? Medscape.com explains.
“MACRA replaced Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula for setting physician reimbursement with the Quality Payment Program, which represents a shift from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance. The Quality Payment Program has two tracks: the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which most physicians will initially participate in, and Advanced Alternative Payments Models for physicians more accustomed to getting paid based on how they perform on quality and cost-control measures.”
So what’s the result of all this? That’s where the exodus thing comes into play.
“Almost four in 10 physicians in solo and small group practices predict an exodus from Medicare within their ranks on account of the program’s new payment plan and its punishing penalties.”
For small practices, sticking it out in traditional healthcare won’t be easy.
A small business is hard enough to keep afloat without rules and regulations constantly trying to drown it. We get rules are there for a reason, but at what point is it all just too much? And how on earth is everyone supposed to keep up?
“CMS is trying to allay physician fears about MACRA. It has budgeted $100 million during the next 5 years to help small practices get up to speed on the law. The agency acknowledges that complying with MACRA, particularly its reporting requirements, promises to be harder for smaller practices than bigger ones, which have more financial and personnel depth.”
That’s a 5 year learning curve a lot of docs won’t put up with, and quite honestly we don’t blame them. But instead of throwing in the towel, or even getting frustrated, imagine your career in a different light. One that you shed directly on your patients. It’s true – some physicians come to Direct Care out of frustration. But in this case, the grass is definitely greener on the other side. So come on over.
Direct Care isn’t just any solution. It’s a good solution.
Let’s consider the alternative to penalties and a laundry list of rule and, consequently, lifestyle changes. You’re looking at the opportunity to make your own decisions. To free yourself from the restrictions third parties hold you down with. To spend your time focused on patients rather than buried under a mountain of Medicare paperwork. All this freedom doesn’t mean sacrificing income, either. It only means a lot fewer paper cuts.
Update: It hasn’t even been implemented yet, and MACRA is already breaking down. See why “962 pages of gibberish” is causing an uproar and may essentially cause a delay in the new rule’s launch…
