On July 9, 2021, the Biden Administration issued an executive order (EO), “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” to address corporate consolidation, lack of competition and high prices for consumers, and low wages.[i] The health care portion of the EO focuses on improving competition to address health care prices and access to care in four [...] Read More
Here are some reimbursement related reasons why access to biosimilars has been slower than hoped, even though patient out-of-pocket costs are lower. Current System Is an Improvement Over Earlier System, But Could Be Better Part B Is For Biologics (and Some Drugs) When I was working at the Senate Legislative Counsel’s office drafting the Average [...] Read More
On January 9, 2017, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Alex Azar II to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). This hearing follows the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee nomination hearing on November 29, 2017. Mr. Azar has been nominated to replace Tom […]
Read MoreOn November 2-3, 2017, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a public meeting covering a variety of topics. Much of the discussion focused on an alternative to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), telehealth services, and biosimilars. Continuing the discussion began at the previous public meeting, the Commission considered a possible alternative to MIPS. […]
Read MoreTonight, CMS released the final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) payment rule for 2018. CMS is finalizing an overall update to physician payments of +0.41%, and the 2018 conversion factor will increase by $0.10, to $35.99 from 2017’s $35.89. Read on for more news…. Coding Policy Change for Biosimilars In 2016, CMS finalized a policy […]
Read More