Posted by Michael Wonder on 25 May 2016
ASCO explains its opposition to Medicare Part B demo during key congressional hearing
17 May 2016 - Oncology community highlights experiment's lack of real-time patient protections.
The oncology community voiced its strong opposition to the proposed Medicare Part B demonstration project today on Capitol Hill before the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, represented by Debra A. Patt, MD, MPH, MBA, director of public policy at Texas Oncology, Medical Director Healthcare Informatics at The US Oncology Network and McKesson Specialty Health, and chair-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Clinical Practice Committee.
"The Part B Drug Payment Model, which is aimed at reducing Medicare drug spending, is ill-conceived and, most importantly, lacks a patient-centered focus," said Dr. Patt during her testimony. "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is absolutely incorrect in its assumptions that reducing reimbursements for Part B drugs will both lower Medicare costs and drug prices. ... The reimbursement cuts proposed by CMS in Phase 1 of the 'Part B Drug Payment Model' will actually increase Medicare costs and further fuel drug prices—the exact opposite of what CMS intends."
