Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Both Parties On The Hill Raise Concerns About Medicare's Plans To Revamp Drug Payments
Morning Consult: Republicans Say Medicare Drug Proposal Needs Safeguards
House Republicans said Tuesday the Obama administration’s proposal to alter how doctors are reimbursed for administering drugs under Medicare is like a clinical trail – except they say the proposal is not subject to the same safeguards as regular drug trials. The controversial proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is designed to take incentives away from doctors to prescribe high-cost medications. But Republicans say it would make it more difficult for patients to access prescription drugs for cancers and other diseases. They echoed much of the criticism from doctors and the pharmaceutical industry at an Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing. (McIntire, 5/17)
The Hill: House Dems Give Mixed Reviews To Obama Medicare Plan
House Democrats on Tuesday gave a mixed reception to a controversial Obama administration drug-pricing proposal. Republicans have called for the plan, which would change how Medicare Part B pays for certain drugs, to be scrapped completely. Congressional Democrats are split, with some expressing serious concerns and others defending the proposal. (Sullivan, 5/17)
Kaiser Health News: Critics Of Medicare’s Overall Hospital Star Rating Push For Changes
Over the past decade, the federal government has publicized 115 different ways to measure medical quality in hospitals, from assessing wait times in emergency rooms and noise levels outside hospital rooms to tracking blood clots in surgical patients. But the latest effort, to combine dozens of metrics into one patient-friendly quality indicator, has proven the most contentious. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently postponed its plan to release the new rating system, which would award one star to the worst-quality facilities and five stars to those with the best marks. ... Hospital leaders who previewed the preliminary rating system say the formula seems skewed against institutions that treat the poorest or toughest patients, meaning those with complex illnesses. (Rau, 5/18)
And in Pennsylvania --
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Another Ambulance Owner Is Charged With Medicare Fraud
The owner of a defunct Northeast Philadelphia ambulance company was charged with Medicare fraud for transporting patients who could walk and did not meet the federal program's requirements for ambulance services, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said Monday. (Brubaker, 5/17)
