On May 9, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

Although the provisions of MACRA and its proposed rule that are related to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs) involve a dizzying array of acronyms, calculations and other complexities, the underlying policy objectives and future direction are clear – Congress (through a bipartisan piece of legislation) and CMS (through its power to implement MACRA) seeks to both build upon and solidify new payment and delivery models that move from volume to value, combine with and build upon private sector initiatives, and migrate to financial risk.