Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Republicans Call For Medicare To Halt Bundled Payment Reforms
Modern Healthcare: House Republicans Tell CMS To Stop Mandatory Involvement In Payment Reform Proposal
House Republicans are asking the CMS to stop new mandatory payment models they say threaten quality of care and overstep the agency's bounds. In a letter to CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt and Chief Medical Officer Patrick Conway, the 179 members of the House say the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has “exceeded its authority” and “patients are blindly being forced into high-risk government-dictated reforms with unknown impacts.” (Muchmore, 9/30)
The Hill: Lawmakers Call For End To Medicare 'Experiments'
The 179 House lawmakers, led by Reps. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), are criticizing Medicare reforms put forward by an organization created by ObamaCare. ... Among these initiatives are “bundled payments” for hip and knee replacements and cardiac care, meaning that instead of paying individually for each test and procedure, Medicare pays a set amount for an entire episode of care. There is also a controversial initiative to shift Medicare payments for some drugs toward a flat fee, as opposed to a percentage of the cost of the drug, which the administration argues provides an incentive to prescribe pricier medicines. (Sullivan, 9/30)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Works To Bring Doctors, Nursing Homes Into Medicare Cost Control Program
Maryland faces a year-end deadline to submit a plan to expand a massive experiment in how it manages health care costs by including doctors, nursing homes and other health care providers. (Gantz, 10/1)
