Patients First Act aims to reform physician reimbursement

On July 15, Reps. John Joyce (R-PA), Greg Murphy (R-NC) and Kim Schrier (D-WA), chairs of the GOP and Democratic Doctors Caucuses, introduced the bipartisan Patients First Act, legislation to make reforms to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Key provisions include:

• Tying Medicare physician reimbursement to a measure of medical inflation
• A primary care five-year pilot program that would pay primary care providers a per-member- per-month payment in addition to payments for regular services. This would include internal medicine physicians and, it appears, internal medicine subspecialists, including ID physicians. IDSA advocated for this inclusion to provide a payment opportunity for ID physicians. Unfortunately, the pilot is limited to independent or private practice physicians, which greatly limits the number of ID physicians who could benefit from the program.
• Establishes the new Patient Outcome Improvement National Tabulation System (POINTS) program, which would replace the existing Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), and creates a physician and clinician-led task force at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop quality metrics that are streamlined and reduce administrative burden.
• Increases the budget neutrality threshold from $20 million to $54.3 million, which enables CMS to make greater investments while still falling within budget neutrality requirements.

IDSA previously provided feedback on a draft version of this bill and will have additional opportunities to provide more feedback in the coming weeks. IDSA is exploring opportunities to expand the bill's potential benefits for ID physicians, including enabling more ID physicians to participate in the primary care pilot program and prioritization and funding for ID quality measure development. Congressional committees may consider this bill as soon as September, and IDSA will update members on advocacy opportunities.

About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a global community of 13,000 clinicians, scientists and public health experts working together to solve humanity's smallest and greatest challenges, from tiny microbes to global outbreaks. Rooted in science, committed to health equity and driven by curiosity, our compassionate and knowledgeable members safeguard the health of individuals, our communities and the world by advancing the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Visit idsociety.org to learn more.