AMGA outlines policies to support care for the chronically ill

Today, the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) submitted a letter to the newly formed Senate Committee on Finance Chronic Care Workgroup outlining policies that would support care for the chronically ill.

In May, the Senate Committee on Finance formed a working group with the goal of analyzing current law and developing legislation to establish alternative policies for improving care for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions. In support of this effort, the workgroup reached out to AMGA and other stakeholders for guidance on how best to serve this patient population.

AMGA's letter outlined in detail the current care management processes used by medical groups to treat the chronically ill. The letter also discussed current impediments to developing these processes and offered recommendations on policies that would better support care for this population of patients. The letter notes the need for new financial incentives and operational tools to allow medical groups to be successful in population health management in both fee for service and risk based payment models.
Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, President and Chief Executive Officer of AMGA, stated, "Medical groups have long invested in establishing processes to identify and care for patients with multiple chronic conditions, despite a lack of reimbursement for these efforts. Proper financial and operational tools are necessary to incentivize and operationalize any new type of care addressing chronic conditions. AMGA welcomes the opportunity to provide the Committee on Finance with input on transforming the current financial system into one that rewards population health management."