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Linda J Herman wrote:

> KaiserNetwork Health Reports noted  more troublesome news from HHS --
> they are proposing reduced Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements  for
> "thousands of outpatient procedures."  Among the proposed reductions are
> reimbursements for treatments involving  "new technology."
> Unfortunately the article below is very vague about what "new
> technologies" would be affected. For example, could this proposed rule
> affect Medicare coverage of  outpatient DBS adjustments and follow up
> treatments?
> The proposed changes should be on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
> Services (formerly HCFA) web site tomorrow.
> ""The Federal Register will publish the proposed rule, CMS-1159-P, on
> Aug. 24 .  CMS will open the proposed rule to public comment until Oct. 3
> (Washington Post, 8/21).  To view the proposed rule on the CMS Web site,
> go to
> http://www.hcfa.gov/regs/cms1159p.htm."
>
> --------- Forwarded message ----------
> This story was sent to you from kaisernetwork.org Daily Reports.
> Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 12:03:10 -0400
>
> MEDICARE
>
> "Medicare to Boost Reimbursement for Outpatient Services 2.3%, But May
> Reduce 'Pass-Through Payments' for New Technologies, HHS Confirms
>         HHS announced yesterday that Medicare will boost reimbursement rates
> 2.3% for outpatient services in hospitals next year, but the agency also
> may reduce payments for "certain drugs and medical devices," the
> Washington Post reports.
> Under a proposed rule issued yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and
> Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA) may impose an "across-the-board
> reduction" on payments for new medical technologies, which Congress
> capped at 2.5% of total outpatient reimbursements in a 1999 law that took
> effect last year (Washington Post, 8/21).  CMS has "threatened to cut"
> extra payments for new technologies by up to 80%.  According to the
> agency, "The information we have collected thus far suggests that a
> significant reduction could be required for 2002."  In "early agency
> estimates," CMS found that Medicare spent $1 billion more than the $400
> million limit that Congress set on extra payments for new medical
> technologies (Bloomberg News, 8/20).  An HHS spokesperson said that the
> number of new medical devices has "roughly quadrupled" in the past year.
>
> Experts Worry Cuts Could Drive Up Costs
>
>         Some medical experts have warned that limiting reimbursements for new
> medical devices would force hospitals to admit more patients, which would
> drive up Medicare costs (Washington Post, 8/21).  Medicare provides
> larger reimbursements for inpatient care (Kaiser Daily Health Policy
> Report, 8/20).  In addition, medical device manufacturers, including
> Guidant Corp. and **Medtronic Inc., have lobbied to stop CMS from
> "slashing the payments."  Bloomberg News reports that reducing
> reimbursement rates for medical devices may prompt hospitals to "stop
> using the companies' latest products" to avoid financial losses.  The
> Federal Register will publish the proposed rule, CMS-1159-P, on Aug. 24
> (Bloomberg News, 8/20).  CMS will open the proposed rule to public
> comment until Oct. 3 (Washington Post, 8/21).  To view the proposed rule
> on the CMS Web site, go to
> http://www.hcfa.gov/regs/cms1159p.htm.
>
> Information Gap?
>
>         In an editorial, the Los Angeles Times warns that a decision to reduce
> Medicare payments for new medical devices "should be based on better
> information" than CMS officials have used, adding, "Curbing costs is
> good, but doing it with a bludgeon is not."  The editorial points out
> that the debate over the issue has "drawn attention to a long-ignored
> flaw" in the U.S. public health system -- the "lack of any coherent
> system for assessing what works, what gives the biggest medical benefit
> for the buck."  According to the editorial, "Making quality information
> public pushes hospitals and doctors to focus on effective treatments and
> reduce medical errors."  The editorial points out that the proposed rule
> faces "political trouble," concluding, "If the government had
> better-quality information, it would be able to fend off critics and
> defend its cuts" (Los Angeles Times, 8/21)."
>
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