Rounds NEWS FROM AMERICA’S BEST MEDICAL SOCIETY
Association’s 2014 Winter Conference in February.
He also issued a call to physicians
to share their input as changes roll out so he can take that information back to Washington D.C. Dr. Farris, a former re- gional CMS administrator based in Dal- las who now oversees the Consortium for Quality Improvement and Survey & Certification Operations, says he has taken up the task of “putting real-world physicians” in positions at CMS, adding the agency hopes to “see a difference in the way CMS approaches physicians. My goal is to get more physician input at CMS.”
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Consortium Administrator James Randolph Farris, MD, told physicians at the TMA Winter Conference in February his goal is “to get more physician input at CMS.”
CMS official seeks physician input
BY AMY LYNN SORREL In 2014, physicians must adjust to a lot of Medicare programs and policies, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Consortium Adminis- trator James Randolph Farris, MD, told a roomful of physicians at the Texas Medical
That includes physician feedback on the health plan networks that are part of the federal insurance marketplace, also referred to as the exchange. (See “The ACA Marketplace,” pages 16–25.) Dr. Farris acknowledged the “difficulties” in the initial rollout but said CMS ramped up public outreach and education ef- forts and expected a “big jump” in en- rollments in Texas in the coming months. He also highlighted several impend- ing Medicare deadlines: 2014 is the last year for physicians to earn bonus pay- ments in the Physician Quality Reporting System. And it’s the last year to enroll in the meaningful use of electronic health records incentive program before finan- cial penalties kick in for lack of partici- pation. Group practices of 100 or more physicians also must prepare now for payment adjustments based on the qual- ity and cost of care they provide — ver- sus fee-for-service — under the Medicare value-based modifier that starts in 2015. By 2017, all physicians will be subject to the new program.
April 2014 TEXAS MEDICINE 9
PHOTOS BY JIM LINCOLN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68