Statement attributed to:
Robert M. Wah, MD
President, American Medical Association
"The American Medical Association is concerned following Friday's announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that a third of physician groups of 100 practitioners or more will face a penalty under the Value-based Modifier program (VBM) in 2015. If even the largest and most sophisticated groups in the country cannot comply with the program's complex and poorly-communicated requirements, the damage will likely be far greater when the VBM is extended to smaller groups and solo practitioners.
"We also think it is notable that none of the 14 groups receiving bonuses have a large percentage of high risk patients. This underscores the need for CMS to better adjust for risk and include socioeconomic factors in that adjustment to ensure that the physicians who see our sickest patients are not disadvantaged.
"The VBM program is just one part of the regulatory tsunami physicians are facing, which includes potential cuts from Meaningful Use and the Physician Quality Reporting System. The AMA has been urging CMS to fix these programs to reduce their burden on physicians so that they can spend more time caring for their patients and looks forward to continuing to work with the administration to improve the quality of care and reduce costs."
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About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
