Frank G. Opelka, MD, FACS, Medical Director, Quality and Health Policy, American College of Surgeons (ACS) Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, testified November 8 before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. The subcommittee conducted the hearing—MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP [Children’s Health Insurance Program] Reauthorization Act) and Alternative Payment Models: Developing Options for Value-based Care—to explore how Medicare payment reforms are shaping the way physicians treat patients.
Dr. Opelka described for lawmakers how the Advanced Alternative Payment Model (A-APM) developed by the ACS and Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, the ACS-Brandeis A-APM—proceeded through the Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) review and approval process. He shared how the ACS-Brandeis A-APM can revolutionize physician payment, as well as encourage and incentivize a team-based approach to patient care. Dr. Opelka expressed the College’s ongoing willingness to work with Congress on ways to improve and enhance patient care and Medicare physician payment.
A replay of the hearing is available on the Energy and Commerce Committee website at https://goo.gl/X2xjqJ.
For more information, contact Matt Coffron, ACS Manager of Policy Development, at mcoffron@facs.org.