Mark McClellan
CMS to reimburse states for Part D expenses
The Bush administration said CMS will reimburse states for covering the cost of prescriptions during the first weeks of the Medicare Part D rollout, after weeks of saying it would not do so. CMS administrator Dr. Mark McClellan said yesterday that the administration "would use its influence" to force insurers offering Medicare drug coverage to reimburse the states. More than two dozen states have stepped in to provide short-term coverage for Medicare recipients following reports that many …
... Read more...Insurers ordered to honor prescriptions
The Bush administration has ordered insurers to provide a temporary 30-day supply of medicines to Medicare Part D recipients in an effort to control growing problems. The White House also ordered co-pays for low income seniors to be capped at $5 per prescription. The move is seen as an admission that things are not going as smoothly as they could be. Over the weekend, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mark McClellan conceded that "thousands" of program …
... Read more...Medicare Part D glitches continue
States continue to report problems with the Medicare Part D roll out which began Jan. 1. On Thursday, California became the latest to take action, as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation guaranteeing an emergency supply of medicines for those unable to get their prescription. With problems far more widespread than had been predicted, criticism of the program is building. Media coverage has been particularly harsh even in outlets traditionally sympathetic to the …
... Read more...AMA warns on reimbursement cuts
The American Medical Association said it will fight efforts to create a pay-for-performance reimbursement system for Medicare unless Congress agrees to a permanent freeze in government-set payment cuts for physicians. On Monday, AMA CEO Michael Maves sent a letter to CMS administrator Mark McClellan warning that the doctors' lobby is prepared to go to war over the contentious issue if its demands are not met. As part of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, Congress scheduled a 4.3 percent …
... Read more...AMA angry about CMS quality program
The American Medical Association has issued a formal complaint to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, attacking the agency's Physician Voluntary Reporting Program. The AMA sent a letter of protest to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan this morning saying that it wants the agency to cancel the program and come to the bargaining table. The dispute is partly because the reporting system would require extra codes and system rework for participating physicians.
- see this article from The Hill
Medicare drug plan site still missing in action
The government's new online tool designed to help American seniors select a prescription drug plan when the new Medicare Part D benefit goes into effect January 1 is apparently still having problems. CMS administrator Dr. Mark McClellan was scheduled to debut the new service at a press conference in Washington yesterday; but according to media reports, the debut of the service, which was originally slated to launch in October, did not go very well. Critics say the disappointing government …
... Read more...CMS releases physician data reporting guidelines
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an initiative that will give physicians the ability voluntarily to report data on 36 new quality measures. The first phase of the Physician Voluntary Reporting Program will go into effect in January 2006. The announcement was made Friday afternoon by CMS administrator Dr. Mark McClellan. "Physicians are in the best position to know what can work best to improve their own practices and ultimately the quality of care available …
... Read more...Medicare Part D site faces more delays
The Web site set up to provide information to seniors looking for information on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit is still lagging behind schedule, CMS officials grudgingly admitted. For the time being, only basic information on the benefit and local plans is available at Medicare.gov. The agency introduced some new features on Monday but did not deliver quite the suite of tools analysts had been expecting. Visitors are not yet able to compare plans, potentially a very serious …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: Boston Scientific posts loss;McLellan calls for 'digital Infosphere';and much more...
> Boston Scientific scored a legal victory in its fight with Johnson & Johnson over the drug eluting stent market when a Dutch court ruled in its favor. Article
> Bad numbers though, for Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific, which reported a loss of $269 million for the third quarter due to declining sales of its Taxus stent and a $598 million legal settlement. …
... Read more...HIT: CMS launches P4P and eRx projects
The government is launching an ambitious five-year project which will look at ways to improve healthcare quality using pay-for-performance techniques. The Medicare Health Care Quality Demonstration will fund local and regional projects which use incentives to promote quality. CMS issued a request for proposals on Monday.
CMS administrator Dr. Mark McClellan also said his agency will shortly be releasing a call for proposals for e-prescribing demonstration projects that would test …
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