MACRA

Flood-Impacted Texas Physicians Granted New MIPS EUC Exception - 08/14/2025

In response to severe storms and flooding affecting Texas in July, physicians in impacted counties will receive automatic adjustments to their Merit-Based Incentive Payment System scores. Some physicians will still have the option to report data and receive a corresponding payment adjustment.

SAFER Guides Help Safeguard Practice Operations During EHR Downtime - 08/14/2025

In case of natural disasters, cyberattacks, and more, the guides include checklists, action-based worksheets, and recommendations to help physicians reduce patient risks related to electronic health records.

Fix Medicare Now: 2024 Fee Schedule Solidifies Cut, Heightens Calls for Reform - 03/05/2024

This latest cut stems from the 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule and Congressional inaction, both of which further erode physician payment, practice viability, and patient access to care.

TMA to Feds: Some Proposed QPP Changes “Costly and Wasteful” - 08/23/2023

TMA letter praises the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for its commitment to deregulation and outlining TMA's concerns about the proposed changes and recommendations for how to improve the QPP.

Medicare Gets It Wrong, Re-Calculates MIPS Scores and Changes 2019 Payment Adjustments - 08/21/2023

All Texas physicians should recheck their 2017 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or Alternative Payment Model (APM) information to ensure the correct MIPS payment adjustment (bonus or penalty) was applied for 2019 Medicare payments.

Congress Conducts MACRA Check-Up - 07/25/2023

Federal lawmakers seem to be listening to calls for reform for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), as the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee recently hosted a “MACRA Checkup” hearing to examine the law’s “successes and remaining challenges.”

Make a Penalty-Free Shift From Meaningful Use to MIPS - 07/25/2023

I’m confused about the overlap of dates between the meaningful use incentive program and the Advancing Care Information reporting requirements under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Is there extra work for physicians who participate in both?

Will Health Quality Improve Under New Medicare? - 06/28/2023

Medicare is revolutionizing how physicians are evaluated and paid to provide care, and patients will see changes as a result, focusing in their care quality. As Texas doctors adapt to the new Medicare payment system, many are concerned about the changes, while others are optimistic the transition will result in healthier patients. The switch to the new Quality Payment Program under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) means physicians who care for Medicare patients must change how they run their practice – and care for their patients.

Congress Asks, TMA Delivers: 50 More Ways to Fix Medicare - 05/02/2023

TMA leaders presented lawmakers with 50 ways to increase physicians’ Medicare pay; reduce paperwork and hassles; measure “quality” with metrics that are meaningful to physicians and their patients; and push health information technology vendors to shoulder their fair share of the administrative burden.

Victory! Congress Finally Repeals Flawed Medicare SGR Formula - 05/02/2022

Statement of TMA President Austin I. King, MD, on the U.S. Senate vote to approve HR 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, which finally repealed the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. 

MIPS Participation Drops per Preliminary Report - 04/05/2022

Fewer clinicians participated in Medicare’s Quality Payment Program in 2020, and fewer participants earned incentive payments compared with 2019, according to preliminary data recently released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

MIPS Deadlines Approaching for 2021 Data Submission, COVID Exception - 03/28/2022

Clinicians who participated in Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2021 have until this Thursday, March 31, at 7 pm CT to submit and update their data for that performance year. That's also the deadline for MIPS-participating groups, virtual groups, and alternative payment model entities to apply for an extreme and uncontrollable circumstances exception for 2021 because of COVID-19.

Medicare Maintains Quality Reporting Resources for Small Practices - 03/16/2022

Despite the recent expiration of an initiative to help small, rural, and underserved practices navigate Medicare’s Quality Payment Program, the agency is still offering help to those practices through several avenues, including a new monthly newsletter geared toward small practices.

Medicare Extends MIPS Relief for Groups - 03/02/2022

Because of the COVID-19 public health emergency, Medicare has reopened applications from certain groups for its hardship exception under Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive System (MIPS) extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy.

Alphabet Soup: A MACRA Glossary and Acronym Guide - 08/19/2021

MACRA, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015,  introduced a slew of new acronyms and terms for physicians to understand. Here's our glossary.

Submit 2020 Data Now to Avoid Medicare Pay Cut - 03/23/2021

If you participated in Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP) under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), the deadline to submit all data through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) portal has been extended one day to April 1. The deadline had been March 31.

CMS Increases Advanced APM Thresholds for 2021 - 11/13/2020

If you participated in Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP) this year as a Qualifying Alternative Payment Model Participant (QP), you’ll need to keep an eye on your status for 2021.

National Specialty Societies With MACRA Information - 03/27/2019

To help you get the best information possible, TMA has identified direct links to MACRA news, resource centers, education, and advocacy from national specialty societies. Visit your specialty society online for information specific to your specialty, setting, and practice.

Six Ways to Become a Better Collaborator - 12/05/2016

Practicing successfully under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act will call for strong collaboration and communication between physicians and other members of the health care team. For many physicians, this means a culture shift. Here’s how.