Administrative Simplification

Physician Health First

See how the AAFP is committed to promoting well-being and reversing the physician-burnout trend.

Overview

Administrative simplification represents an industry-wide commitment to reducing health care costs by strengthening the electronic exchange of data, and by removing unnecessary burdens throughout the compliance, claims and billing processes. The AAFP supports these objectives and is continuously working to alleviate demands placed on family physicians through entangling paperwork and needless regulatory complexities.

The AAFP has advocated for expedited implementation of administrative simplification provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that will enhance meaningful electronic communications between health plans, financial institutions and family physician practices.

We also have pushed for the elimination of aspects of the Medicare and Medicaid programs that are unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome for health care providers and beneficiaries. Specifically, we have supported the elimination of:

Provisions that preclude Medicare and Medicaid re-enrollment for physicians who have not responded in a timely manner to revalidation queries of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS);
The current Medicare rule that automatically deactivates a physician who has not submitted a Medicare claim for 12 consecutive months.

The administrative hurdles facing all physicians have grown dramatically in recent years. The AAFP is determined to help family physicians reduce these roadblocks by identifying and eliminating regulations and processes that add cost while undermining the efficient and effective delivery of quality care.