The AMA released the following statement on March 31, 2011 in reaction to the CMS’  proposed rule on Medicare Accountable Care Organizations:

AMA: SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO PHYSICIAN PARTICIPATION IN ACOS MUST BE ADDRESSED

“The AMA will fully review the proposed rule CMS has released on Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and the FTC-DOJ draft statement of policy also released today.  ACOs offer great promise for improving care coordination and quality while reducing cost, but only if all physicians who wish to are able to lead and participate in them.  For this to happen, significant barriers must be addressed, including the large capital requirements to fund an ACO and to make required changes to an individual physician’s practice, existing antitrust rules and conflicting federal policies.

The AMA made recommendations to CMS on how to make it possible for physicians in all practice sizes and settings to successfully lead and participate in ACOs, including flexible requirements for ACO structure, transitional steps for ACO formation, increased access to loans and grants for small practices, easing of antitrust restrictions, and timely access to quality data.

The AMA looks forward to working with the Administration to develop physician-led new models of patient care.”

–Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD
Speaker, American Medical Association House of Delegates