CMS quality initiative will overburden practices ‘still reeling’ from COVID-19, ACR and others warn
A forthcoming Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality initiative could overburden physician practices “still reeling” from the pandemic, advocates warned on Monday.
The Radiation Oncology Model is set to kick off on Jan. 1 of next year—after several delays—doling out fixed payments in a bid to improve cancer care and save millions. Doc groups pushed hard for the postponement and now they’re asking CMS to further modify the model to protect vulnerable practices.
Groups including the American College of Radiology are concerned the mandatory RO Model includes too many small and rural physician groups. They’re urging the agency to ease reporting requirements and data collection, according to a letter to interim leaders.
“Practices will have to create separate billing systems, hire additional staff and devote significant staff time to learning the model and completing model functions, all while still reeling from staff layoffs and hiring freezes associated with the ongoing pandemic,” 27 organizations led by the American Society for Radiation Oncology wrote March 1. “Time spent on needless input of data that does not result in improved patient care is time poorly spent and a harmful distraction.”
ACR, ASTRO and others also “remain concerned” that smaller physician groups will be forced to allocate already limited resources to adopt electronic health record technology, alongside other requirements. They’re asking CMS to grant exemptions, as it has done previously in the Merit Based Incentive Program.
“This is particularly important given that these practices continue to struggle during the COVID-19 [public health emergency],” they wrote.
You can read the entire letter—also signed by the American Medical Association, Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, and numerous others—here. ASTRO also voiced its support Monday for Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Biden administration’s nominee to lead CMS, urging the Senate to “swiftly confirm her.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.