Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), along with five Congressional colleagues, has sent a letter to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the FDA imploring the agencies to clarify who oversees each agency’s policy development (including regulations, guidance, etc.) for wireless health devices and their supporting infrastructure, as well as how the policy measures are coordinated among the agencies and the ONC.
The American Medical Association (AMA), along with state and national medical specialty societies, have sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expressing serious concern about an onslaught of overlapping regulations that affect physicians. Programs with overlapping timelines include the value-based modifier, penalties under the e-prescribing program, physician quality reporting system and EHR incentive program, along with the transition to ICD-10.
The Supreme Court took its final lap in the three-day oral arguments in the case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a final report setting forth best practices for businesses to protect the privacy of U.S. consumers and give them greater control over the collection and use of their personal data.
Since agreeing in November 2011 to consider several constitutionality issues relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments March 26-28 on cases against the legislation. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released a report in January explaining the issues raised by the cases pending before the Supreme Court and considered the potential effects of the court’s decisions.
The White House has put its John Hancock on an agreement between the FDA and the medical device industry, bringing MDUFMA III—the latest iteration of the Medical Device User Fee & Modernization Act—a leap closer to liftoff.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) acknowledged the recent downward trend in Medicare spending and utilization on medical imaging procedures in its annual March Report to Congress, a move applauded by the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has released policies to assist states in building Affordable Insurance Exchanges. Starting in 2014, these one-stop marketplaces will allow consumers and small businesses to choose a private health insurance plan and offer the public the same kinds of insurance choices as members of Congress.
To reach the goals intended in the HITECH Act, providers and patients must be persuaded of the value of health information exchange and support its implementation, according to an article published in the March issue of Health Affairs.
A total of 202 bipartisan co-sponsors have demonstrated support for H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act, according to the American College of Radiology. H.R. 3269 would repeal the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-mandated payment reduction to the professional component of Medicare reimbursement for multiple diagnostic imaging services administered by the same physician, to the same patient, at the same session.
With oral arguments set for March 26-28 in the Supreme Court for the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the court’s decision could have a significant effect on the 2012 presidential election since PPACA is already a hot-button issue, according to a perspective paper published online Feb. 29 in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
Siemens Healthcare has appointed David Fisher as vice president, healthcare policy and strategy in the U.S., effective Feb. 27.
A tentative deal is in place that will continue to hold off the 27.4 percent cut in Medicare physician payment rates, though it will be paid for with cuts to other federal healthcare funding.
The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition, American College of Radiology and the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance have protested the Obama Administration’s proposed budget for 2013, which contains imaging cuts projected to save $820 million over 10 years. The groups argued that the cuts would restrict access to imaging, raise costs and impact manufacturing jobs.
Allowing people to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) medications at local drugstores provides the U.S. healthcare system $102 billion in profits annually, and each dollar spent on OTCs saves $6 to $7 for the healthcare system, according to a white paper released Jan. 31 by Consumer Healthcare Products Association. Without OTCs, an additional 56,000 medical practitioners would be needed to assist with the increase in office visits, which would not bode well for the current physician shortage.
Manufacturers of medical devices have agreed to pay substantially higher fees to the FDA in exchange for speedier and more predictable reviews, according to a news release from the agency. The deal, which needs to be approved by Congress, would double the dollars kicked in by industry—to $595 million over the next five years, up from $295 million over the past five years, according to multiple sources.
Six current and former employees of the FDA—all scientists and physicians who worked on reviewing medical devices—have filed suit against the agency, accusing it of spying on their computer activities. The six allege that they were placed under secret surveillance because they had warned Congress that FDA was hastily approving risky devices.
Although major components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) do not go into effect until 2014, the fate of PPACA depends on the outcomes of four key events this year, according to a perspective paper published online Jan. 26 in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) is urging the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to consider the correlation between Medicare reimbursement and patient outcomes as it advises Congress about physician payments.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has informed the American College of Radiology that “operational limitations” will prevent them from applying the imaging professional component Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction (MPPR) to group practices beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Therefore, CMS will not apply the professional component MPPR for imaging services performed by separate physicians in the same group practice for 2012.
