The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on June 22 entitled “MACRA Checkup: Assessing Implementation and Challenges That Remain for Patients and Doctors.” The hearing featured witnesses from a value-based care advocacy group, a physician group, and a health policy research institute.
The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the bipartisan Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA, P.L. 114-10), a law that repealed the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate, reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and sought to improve physician payments and transition the Medicare payment system to one more focused on value-based care. As the law has been implemented, challenges have been identified with facets of the authorized policies, including inadequate physician reimbursement and lower than expected adoption of alternative payment models. Members of the committee praised MACRA for its successes but noted there are improvements that need to be made to ensure better patient access to care, sustainable physician payment, and greater adoption of alternative payment models. Committee members agreed to continue to work in a bipartisan way to improve upon MACRA.