On July 13, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule that will update Medicare payment and policies for doctors and other clinicians who treat Medicare patients in CY 2018. The proposed rule is one of several Medicare payment rules for CY 2018 that the agency says reflect a broader strategy to relieve regulatory burdens for providers; support the patient-doctor relationship in health care; and promote transparency, flexibility, and innovation in the delivery of care.

The Physician Fee Schedule is updated annually to include changes to payment policies, payment rates, and quality provisions for services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries.

"This proposed rule would provide greater potential for payment system modernization and seeks public comment on reducing administrative burdens for providing patient care, including visits, care management, and telehealth services," the federal CMS said in a news release.

"The rule takes steps to better align incentives and provide clinicians with a smoother transition to the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System under the Quality Payment Program. The rule encourages fairer competition between hospitals and physician practices by promoting greater payment alignment, and it would improve the payment for office-based behavioral health services that are often the therapy and counseling services used to treat opioid addiction and other substance use disorders. In addition, the proposed rule makes additional proposals to implement the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation's Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program expanded model starting in 2018."

For more information, see the proposed rule or fact sheet.

Read the American Medical Association's response here. Specifically, the AMA welcomed changes in the request for information on regulatory relief, the expansion of the diabetes prevention program, the effort to consolidate and streamline legacy value-based payment systems, and the delayed implementation of appropriate use criteria.