Medical Societies Ask Congress to Preserve Patient Access to Critical Part B Therapies

  Eleven medical societies – including the American College of Rheumatology, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Urological Association – are urging congressional leaders to preserve patients’ access to critical Part B drug treatments by preventing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from penalizing physicians for providing high-quality care.   The societies recently sent a joint letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways & Means Committee, and the House Energy & Commerce Committee. In the letters, the groups warn of serious impacts to patient access to care should Congress fail to prevent CMS from applying Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) adjustments to Part B drug payments. They argue that it could jeopardize patients in the communities most in need of access to these important treatments.   “This policy will negatively impact patients’ access to critical life- and sight-saving treatments,” the letter states, as it would put at risk the ability of specialists to provide the physician-administered drugs on which their patients depend. Drugs covered under Medicare Part B include therapies that are typically administered by a physician, either in an independent practice or hospital outpatient setting. They are not generally available at pharmacies and are not part of Medicare Part D prescription drug plan...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs