At Meeting Of Key Medicare Advisers, Attendees Ponder: What Can Medicare Learn From Major League Baseball?
Members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met to discuss ways to curb high drug prices in Medicare Part B, the portion of Medicare that pays for drugs administered in a doctor’s office. The commission, which is made up of economists, doctors, and various other health policy experts, is not well-known outside of D.C., but their suggestions carry a lot of weight with lawmakers who are looking to improve Medicare.
Stat:
How Could You Improve Medicare? Look At Major League Baseball
The group, which consists largely of economists, doctors, and various other health policy experts, meets every few months in a nondescript conference room just blocks from the Capitol to discuss various ideas for improving Medicare. While the group is largely unknown outside of Washington, its recommendations provide a roadmap for lawmakers looking to make tweaks to the program. Increasingly, that means MedPAC is looking at how to deal with the high prices of prescription drugs. (Florko, 3/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Advisers Look To Tackle Drug Prices With Arbitration
A key panel of advisers is considering recommending that Congress adopt binding arbitration for Medicare Part B drugs that have extremely high launch prices. Several members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on Thursday favored suggesting a system where a neutral agent would decide on a price for drugs purchased under Medicare Part B if they meet certain criteria. (King, 3/7)
Modern Healthcare:
MedPAC To Call For National Medicare ED Coding Approach
A key Medicare advisory panel is expected to formally call on the CMS to revisit creating a national guideline for coding emergency department visits. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reached a consensus during its Thursday meeting in Washington to put together a recommendation to HHS to revisit national coding by 2022, citing rampant coding problems under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System. The panel will likely vote on the recommendation during its April meeting. (King, 3/7)
