The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday released final rule governing how physicians are paid, raising the total payments under the physician fee schedule by 0.5 percent and setting guidelines for its new Physician Quality Reporting Schedule.
The PQRS was established when the sustainable growth rate was struck down earlier this year, and sets up a value-based system that ties physician pay to quality metrics.
Payment under the PQRS will be calculated by factoring in the quality of the service, the expense of the service and the malpractice rate for the physician.
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When it comes to quality measures, CMS said physicians must report on nine metrics, and risk a 2 percent cut in payment for failing to do so.
In addition to the pay adjustment, CMS said it will publish all physician-level quality data through its Physician Compare database and will assign star ratings much like it does for hospitals.
The rule mandates group practices of 100 or more eligible professionals to report patient responses to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
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The lack of any major change to the fee schedule garnered support from healthcare organizations.
"Through today's rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services maintains stability by not making drastic changes to existing Medicare quality reporting programs," said American College of Cardiology President Kim Allan Williams Sr. in a statement. "This stability will help clinicians become more familiar with the current program elements that will continue in 2016 and are likely to transition to the new payment system."
Here is the full final rule:
Physician Fee Schedule - CY2016 (PDF)
Physician Fee Schedule - CY2016 (Text)
Twitter: @HenryPowderly