Reimbursement:
NEW APPROACHES TO NEW TECH PAYMENTS
Published on Wed Apr 16, 2003
Health care providers that deal extensively with new and emerging technologies may soon see some relief on the Medicare coverage and reimbursement front. At the behest of the Department of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has created a new "Medical Technology Council" charged with facilitating Medicare beneficiaries' timely and appropriate access to emerging technologies. CMS' process for deciding on coverage policies for new technologies approved by the Food and Drug Administration has been a longstanding beef for health care companies, and the new MTC is designed to remedy that situation.
"This new council will reduce the time needed for making and implementing Medicare coverage decisions for new technologies and making CMS' process as seamless as possible for outside stakeholders," CMS chief Tom Scully promises.