STATLINE

Read the Latest Issue of STATLINE

In This Issue:

• CAP Gears Up for the Annual AMA Meeting
• 2018 MIPS Reporting Resources Available for Pathologists
• Save the Date: Review the Proposed 2019 Physician Fee Schedule

Members from the CAP are gearing up to attend the annual American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates meeting on June 9-13, 2018. CAP President R. Bruce Williams, MD, FCAP, will address the Pathology Section Council of the AMA during the meeting and discuss payment and regulatory reform issues that impact the practice of pathology.

A delegation of pathologists, led by the CAP, will also participate at the meeting and will advocate on behalf of pathologists and laboratory medicine. Below is a list of some of the pathology-specific AMA resolutions and issues that will be discussed and potentially voted on during the upcoming meeting:

• Modify CLIA where the AMA will adopt the position to remove the CLIA certification mandate requirement for physicians who only use CLIA-waived tests and physician-performed microscopy.
• Quality Improvement Requirements for physicians of their specialty boards, which includes certification evidence that suffices separate quality improvement requirements from payers, etc.
• Reduction of Medicare’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting program burden for all participating physicians.
• Non-therapeutic gene therapies safety guidelines, regulations, and permissible uses of performance enhancing, non-therapeutic gene therapies.
• Integrating precision medicine into Alternative Payment Models with clinical pathways and decision support tools.

These, and other pathology specific resolutions, will be discussed and finalized during the meeting. STATLINE will provide coverage of the resolutions in an upcoming issue.

The CAP is a part of the AMA House of Medicine and encourages our members to renew their AMA membership and work together with the AMA to help shape a health care system that best utilizes pathologists to deliver high-quality care and meets the evolving demands of patient care. Join or renew your AMA membership today.

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The CAP recently updated its MIPS reporting resources for pathologists. The updated resources include a 2018 MIPS Reporting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document, the 2018 Improvement Activities guide, and a direct link to easily access the CMS MIPS eligibility lookup tool.

MIPS 2018 FAQs

The updated 2018 MIPS Reporting FAQs is customized for pathologists with information to commonly asked questions about MIPS reporting. Members can refer to these questions to gain insight and understanding for the 2018 MIPS reporting requirements and deadlines.

2018 Improvement Activities

The Improvement Activities category was a new performance category introduced for the 2017 MIPS performance year by the CMS. The Improvement Activities category is intended to reward clinicians for care focused on coordination, beneficiary engagement, and patient safety. The CAP created an exclusive list of pathology specifics improvement activities that members can attest.

MIPS Eligibility

The CAP website also has the direct link to the MIPS eligibility lookup tool. As noted in the previous story, this CMS tool is important for checking 2018 MIPS individual and group reporting eligibility.

Check future editions of STATLINE for more MIPS resources updates.

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Save the date for the proposed 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule webinar for Wednesday, July 11 at 1 PM ET. Registration details will be coming soon.

Throughout this 60-minute panel discussion, CAP experts will review the proposed changes from the CMS to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for next year. These proposed changes will include Medicare reimbursement and policy changes that will affect pathologists. The final 2019 fee schedule will be published by the CMS in the fall of 2018.

More details to come, but mark your calendars for this much anticipated event.

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