Welcome to the ACP Advocate,
We begin today by telling you about two new payment rules for 2018 that CMS just published. The 2018 Physician Fee Schedule includes changes that the College asked for in the final rule, including making the care management codes easier to use. CMS also released the final rule for the 2018 Quality Payment Program. We still see some major areas for improvement in that rule and will be letting CMS know about our concerns.
In today's second article we tell you more regarding recent announcements from CMS about new initiatives designed to ease administrative burdens on physicians. The Patients Over Paperwork and Meaningful Measures initiatives both have similar goals to those of ACP's Patients Before Paperwork initiative, and we hope that they will result in positive changes for physicians in practice.
Finally, our last article looks at the Affordable Care Act open enrollment that is currently taking place. There has been an early surge in the number of people enrolling this year, despite the lack of support for outreach to consumers. There is less than a month left in the enrollment period for this year, I encourage you to take a look at the article and ACP's resources on enrollment to see what you can do to help patients who need information.
For more coverage of what's happening in Washington, take a look at my award-winning blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty. You can also follow me on Twitter @BobDohertyACP.
As always, please send your feedback and suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.
Yours truly,
Bob Doherty
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
American College of Physicians
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| In the news |
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ACA Enrollment Defies Odds, Setting Early Sign-Up Record
ACP urges physicians to use its resources to help patients find acceptable insurance options
Nov. 17, 2017 (ACP) -- Despite repeated attempts from Congress and the White House to rid the nation of the Affordable Care Act, Americans seeking health care coverage signed up in record numbers as open enr... (read more)
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| About this newsletter |
| The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's Advocacy and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy. |
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| In focus |
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You Could Win ACP's Innovation Challenge 2018 |
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ACP is accepting applications for the Innovation Challenge to be held at the 2018 Internal Medicine Meeting in New Orleans, Re-Imagining the Practice of Internal Medicine. Finalists will present their ideas to to transform the practice of internal medicine on a national level to a panel of judges in front of a live audience. The Grand Prize winner will receive $20,000 to support implementation/study of their idea. The deadline for applications is Dec. 31. |
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ACA Enrollment Open Now! |
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With the shortened enrollment season this year, it’s more important than ever to do what you can to help patients who may need information about enrolling in ACA plans. ACP’s Enrollment Resources page has information about what patients need to do to sign up, including state-specific information and contacts. For more about what’s different for enrollment for this year, see our coverage in the ACP Advocate. |
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