On Tuesday, October 31, 2017, a free webinar was held to examine 'Risks and Opportunities in Today's Challenging World of CME.' The webinar featured representatives from the CME Coalition, including Senior Advisor Andrew Rosenber and Thomas Sullivan, President of Rockpointe Corp., as well as representatives from the American Academy of Family Physicians and ABTS Convention  Services. Key topics of discussion included MACRA and the new physician Quality Payment Program (QPP), AAFP's Blended Learning Format Option, and more. 

A total of 160 comments have been submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in support of their proposal to reward physicians for their participation in certain continuing medical education (CME) activities. Of the roughly 1,300 comments submitted on the proposed rule, 160 individuals and organizations sent comments that included support for the inclusion of quality improvement/practice improvement (QI-PI) CME in the final rule.

The CME Coalition has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) applauding their proposal to reward physicians for their participation in certain continuing medical education (CME) activities. Under the proposal, quality improvement continuing medical education (CME) would be recognized as a Clinical Practice Improvement Activity (CPIA) under the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) — a physician reimbursement system created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). As detailed in the proposed rule (pg. 1042), CMS recommends that “completion of an accredited performance improving medical education program” be included under the list of CPIAs under MIPS — one of the key policy changes proposed for the Quality Payment Program Year 2.

On February 27, 2017, the CME Coalition responded to a "call for activities" from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on activities for inclusion in the list of acceptable Clinical Practice Improvement Activities (CPIA) under the new Medicare physician payment program known as MIPS. The proposals outline how quality and performance improvement CME have a direct impact on improving clinical practice and patient care. 

The CME Coalition has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the agency's final rule regarding the definition of practice improvement activities in the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Following the Coalition's comments on the proposed rule, the Coalition again asks that CMS continue to explore the potential role that continuing medical education (CME) can play as a clinical practice improvement activity. In its final rule, CMS acknowledged public comments encouraging the inclusion of CME as an improvement activity under the MACRA regulatory regime, and the CME Coalition hopes to work with CMS in order to include CME in the 2018 proposed fee schedule. In explaining its request, the CME Coalition notes that CME is "a leading means by which physicians, develop and maintain the knowledge, skills, and practice performance that leads to imporved performance and optimal patient outcomes."

The comments in full are available below.