Value based Modifier Program

"The American Medical Association is concerned following Friday's announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that a third of physician groups of 100 practitioners or more will face a penalty under the Value-based Modifier program (VBM) in 2015. If even the largest and most sophisticated groups in the country cannot comply with the program's complex and poorly-communicated requirements, the damage will likely be far greater when the VBM is extended to smaller groups and solo practitioners.

"We also think it is notable that none of the 14 groups receiving bonuses have a large percentage of high risk patients. This underscores the need for CMS to better adjust for risk and include socioeconomic factors in that adjustment to ensure that the physicians who see our sickest patients are not disadvantaged.

"The VBM program is just one part of the regulatory tsunami physicians are facing, which includes potential cuts from Meaningful Use and the Physician Quality Reporting System. The AMA has been urging CMS to fix these programs to reduce their burden on physicians so that they can spend more time caring for their patients and looks forward to continuing to work with the administration to improve the quality of care and reduce costs.