Here are five key thoughts:
1. To better prepare clinicians throughout the nation for MACRA, the AMA created a set of tools and resources, including the AMA Payment Model Evaluator. The tool helps providers assess how MACRA will impact their practice and offers resources on the new regulations.
2. Throughout the year, AMA conversed with physicians on how to limit opioid overdoses and manage chronic pain among other key issues. The AMA’s Task Force to Reduce Prescription Opioid Abuse also launched an awareness campaign that contributed to a 10.6 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions as well as more use of prescription drug monitoring programs.
3. Leading payers including Anthem, Cigna, Humana and Aetna have made headlines this year for proposed mega-mergers, which the AMA has starkly opposed. The AMA published Competition in Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets, which featured a study backing the argument that the two megamergers would exceed federal antitrust guidelines that maintain competition.
4. The AMA launched TruthinRx.org, which implored pharmaceutical companies as well as payers and pharmacy benefit managers to give more transparency on pricing, costs and financial practices. The site has patient testimonials detailing how rising drug prices have impacted their daily lives and healthcare access.
5. The AMA has advocated for diabetes prevention programs, with the CMS deciding in its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule to provide coverage for such programs. The AMA collaborated with San Francisco-based Omada Health and Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare to create an online diabetes prevention program for those facing geographical barriers to in-person programs.
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