DCMedical News: Wednesday, October 17, 2018
DCMedical News
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
DCMedical News is published every day either the House or the Senate is in session. See schedule session at the bottom of this newsletter. To ensure continued receipt of your copy please subscribe.
DOCTORS, NURSES AND OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
Maintenance of Certification: Not effective, say most physicians in an MDLinx survey (here), and a big nuisance. FierceHealthcare reports (here) that “Comments were split between a minority who think the process is useful in verifying doctors stay current in their practice of medicine and others who say MOC is an expensive, time-consuming drain” and that “There’s a growing state-by-state effort to pass laws that do not allow penalties against doctors who have decided not to participate in MOC recertification. As of May, seven states require that insurance companies, licensing boards, hospitals or healthcare systems not penalize physicians who do not take an MOC exam.”
HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
The National Academy of Medicine Reports on Health IT Interoperability: The Academy (in a report, here, authored by a committee of stars from the field) blames users for not demanding interoperability. “The major barrier to progress is not technical; rather, it is in the failure of organizational demand and purchasing requirements. In contrast to many other industries, the purchasers of health care technologies have not marshaled their purchasing power to drive interoperability as a key requirement. Better procurement practices, supported by compatible interoperability platforms and architecture, will allow for better, safer patient care; reduced administrative workload for clinicians; protection from cybersecurity attacks; and significant financial savings across multiple markets.”
MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND COMMERCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE
Physician Fees and Telehealth: $14 per call, who pays the rest? The physician fee schedule proposed rule (here, numerous sections, see pg. 369 of 665; CMS news release here; Kaiser Health News report here) for 2019 adds two HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) and three CPT (Common Procedural Terminology) codes for telehealth.
GAO Reports on Medicaid Expansion: More coverage=more health care, says the report here, with seven useful appendices, 23 tables and seven figures.
UnitedHealth Group Reports $57 billion revenue for the third quarter, $4.6 billion earnings: Both measures are up 12% year-over-year. United has 49 million members, up 2.8 million. United is the largest Medicare Advantage plan, with 5 million MA members. United’s third quarter report news release is here, earnings call transcript here.
DRUGS AND DEVICES
Minnesota Sues Insulin Manufacturers, Alleging Collusion over Prices: Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed suit (here) against insulin manufacturers, alleging that their prices were set in an anticompetitive manner. Background: the American Diabetes Association published a study showing, by state, the cost of diabetes, here. Two years ago Senator Sanders and Representative Cummings urged the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to examine why, since 2009, there were 13 instances in which the prices of Sanofi, Novo and Lilly insulin brands appeared to rise in concert. Stat+ report on the litigation and controversy here. Ms. Swanson and her office have been active and effective in other health issues, compelling Ascension and its billing company (“Accretive”) to modify abusive hospital billing practices (complaint here).
Opioid Use and Income: The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (here) reports that “Nearly 10 percent of elderly adults who were poor and 11 percent of those who were low income obtained at least four opioid prescription fills in 2015-2016, compared with just under 5 percent of high-income elderly adults.”
EVENTS & MEETINGS
Oct. 18
3:00-4:40 p.m., CMS Administrator Seema Verma at Brookings on Medicare Part D, followed by a panel (Kavita Patel, Samuel Nussbaum and others).
Information at: https://www.brookings.edu/events/a-conversation-with-seema-verma/
Oct. 19
12:00-1:30 p.m. (lunch at 11:30 a.m.), Flexibility and Innovation in Medicaid, Congressional Briefing, Alliance for Health Policy, for information contact Ann Nguyen at anguyen@allhealthpolicy.org.
Oct. 24
9:00-10:15 a.m., Health Policy in the Polls, Reporter Breakfast, Alliance for Health Policy, for information contact Ann Nguyen at anguyen@allhealthpolicy.org.
Oct. 25
1:00 to 5:00, “Top Minds,” Chernew, Dafny and more, “Disrupting the Health Care Landscape: New Roles for Familiar Players,” NEJM Catalyst webinar, https://join.catalyst.nejm.org/events.
Nov. 8
Through Nov. 13, 2018 AMA Interim Meeting, Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland
Dec. 4
9:00 a.m., CMS sponsors a “Town Hall” meeting “to discuss fiscal year (FY) 2020 applications for add-on payments for new medical services and technologies under the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). Registration required by 11-19-2018, Federal Register notice here.
FOR REFERENCE
Members of the Senate (here) and Members of Senate Committees (here), Senate Calendar (here).
Members of the House with their House Committees (here), House Calendar (here).
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE FOR DCMEDICAL NEWS
These publication dates are the days the House or the Senate is in Session.
October publications dates: 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
November publication dates: 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
December publication dates: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Notes to: Fred Hyde, MD, JD, MBA; fredhyde@aol.com