AMA’s 10 ways to overhaul Medicare’s physician payment system

Physicians are in the middle of a six-year payment freeze, and when adjusted for inflation, physician payment fell 20 percent from 2001 to 2021, according to the association. The payment system is unsustainable, it said. 

Here are the 10 principles it laid out for lawmakers:

1. Provide financial stability by updating payments for practice cost inflation. 
2. Invest in physicians and physician-focused payment models for their ability to provide high-value care. 
3. Push collaboration, competition and patient choice over consolidation. 
4. Reward providers for value of care over administrative activities. 
5. Encourage innovation so practices can redesign to improve care for all subsets of patients. 
6. Offer a variety of payment models tailored to different specialties and practice settings. 
7. Provide timely and actionable data so physicians can analyze claims data and reduce avoidable costs. 
8. Recognize clinical data registries as a tool for improving care quality. 
9. Adjust payment models to address health disparities. 
10. Support small practices and large systems in both rural and urban areas.

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