You’ll face less risk and fewer administrative hassles if you choose to participate in an accountable care organization (ACO), thanks to changes made in the final ACO rule, released today in the Federal Register. CMS took pains to review feedback from physician advocacy groups and believes the final rule takes many of their biggest concerns into account, top agency officials said during a conference call with reporters.

You would win big-time if you’re a primary care practice, but lose big-time if you’re a specialist, under a new proposal by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The group has a budget-neutral, “paid-for” solution that repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula once and for all, saving all physicians from the annual cliffhanger Medicare pay cut that Congress always steps in to prevent.

The AMA, along with dozens of other physician groups, are asking in a nine-page letter for CMS to make more changes to its May 26 e-prescribing (e-Rx) proposed rule.

“While we appreciate the modifications CMS presented in the proposed rule, they don’t go far enough. More changes are needed, including establishing an additional reporting period in 2012 and not applying penalties until 2013,”said former AMA president Cecil Wilson in a news release.

 Nearly one in five of your private payer payments were inaccurate in 2011, according to the AMA's latest "National Heatlh Insurer Report Card," released June 20. The average rate of inaccurate payments is 19.3% in 2011, up from 17.3% in 2010, the AMA says. That 2% jump comes out to a $1.5 billion increase in administrative costs to the health system, the AMA estimates. "A 20% error rate among health insurers represents an intolerable level of inefficiency that wastes an estimated $17 billion annually," AMA Board Member Barbara McAneny, MD, said in a prepared statement.

You and your peers may be able avoid the 1% e-Prescribing (e-Rx) Medicare payment penalty if you qualify for one of CMS’s new proposed hardship exemptions outlined in its May 26 proposed rule. If finalized, the wil give providers a more flexible timeline and more options to claim a hardship exemption for not being able to meet the e-Rx requirement by June 30.