Biden Admin Proposes Bonuses For Doctors Who Implement ‘Anti-Racism’ Plans

The Biden administration is proposing bonus payments to physicians who incorporate “anti-racism” plans into their practices.

Among the proposed “Clinical Practice Improvement Activities” for calendar year 2022 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is to “create and implement an anti-racism plan.” Completing a certain number of improvement activities helps physicians qualify for Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

Medicare is planning to establish bonus payments for physicians who “create and implement an anti-racism plan” https://t.co/XBZgMXdpOg pic.twitter.com/fUzre6jcKg

— Chris Pope (@CPopeHC) December 14, 2021

According to the proposal, clinics should have value statements and policies that are “aligned with a commitment to anti-racism and an understanding of race as a political and social construct, not a physiological one.” It also states that “this activity begins with the premise that it is important to acknowledge systemic racism as a root cause for differences in health outcomes between socially defined racial groups.”

The proposal cites President Joe Biden’s executive order on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the federal workforce. (RELATED: POLL: Huge Majority Of Americans Oppose New Omicron Mandates)

I don’t remember any Rs pushing back against this provision when MACRA was enacted in 2015, but you can easily see how it’s a lot more controversial today:https://t.co/d0JN9XqNWZ pic.twitter.com/hNsjB5kTMU

— Chris Pope (@CPopeHC) December 14, 2021

MIPS was enacted as a part of bipartisan legislation passed in 2015. Clinical Practice Improvement Activities make up 15% of the “MIPS Matrix,” which also includes Quality, Resource Use and Access to Care Information. One of the nine improvement activity categories is “health equity,” which the anti-racism proposal falls under.