Latest News & Headlines
Drug plan hit with backlash
The Hill
April 12, 2016
The Obama administration's aggressive move to rein in the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare has triggered a backlash, with some advocates warning the plan goes too far.
Medicare change: 'Perverse' incentive or 'perverse' reform?
CNN
April 11, 2016
If you have cancer or Crohn's disease, does the doctor give you the best drug to fight that illness, or are you getting the drug that makes your doctor the most money? That's what a proposed pilot program for Medicare is trying to figure out and it's become a political hot potato. Powerful voices on either side of the debate describe the current system and the possible change as "perverse."
Medicare Part B drug payment proposal could cost some doctors
Family Practice News
April 9, 2016
Physicians could be facing a cut in reimbursement for drugs administered in their offices that cost more than $480, according to an Avalere analysis of the proposed Medicare Part B drug payment rule.
Cancer Care Groups Vocalize Opposition to Medicare Drug Payment Proposal
Health Leaders Media
March 21, 2016
Oncologists have been the most vocal group opposing CMS's proposal to restructure Part B drug reimbursement because they believe patients have the most to lose-namely access to care.
Obama proposal to revamp Medicare Part B faces more opposition
STAT News
March 17, 2016
Just days after the Obama administration unveiled an experiment to revamp the Medicare Part B program, more than 300 hundred groups representing physicians, drug makers, and patients are urging the government to withdraw its proposal.
Medicare cuts could reduce benefits for millions
Dalton Daily Citizen
March 15, 2015
Millions of Medicare recipients face costlier premiums or reduced coverage if the government goes through with proposed cuts to the program next month. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are expected on April 4 to lower reimbursements to insurance companies that offer the plans.
D.C. Week: Medicare Proposes Change in Part B Drug Payments
MedPage Today
March 12, 2016
"On both policy and process, CMS missed the mark with this proposal," the Association of Community Cancer Centers said in a statement Wednesday. "The agency sought no stakeholder input and is providing little turnaround time before implementation of such a sweeping, misguided change in Medicare reimbursement."
Medicare Part B proposal draws physician protests
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 11, 2016
Even before top Medicare officials announced Tuesday that they planned to test new payment models for Part B drugs, some doctors were already registering their protests. After a portion of the proposal leaked in early February, one group said the experiment slated for late this year "will jeopardize the health of millions of Medicare patients with cancer." Another called the proposal "misguided and ill-considered."
ASCO, COA Unhappy With Proposed CMS Part B Reimbursement Model
American Journal of Managed Care
March 9, 2016
Early last week COA and ASCO in collaboration with about a 100 other provider and patient advocate communities, sent a letter to Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary, HHS, asserting that the average sales price or ASP should not be used to manipulate provider behavior. The letter states that the initiative focuses on costs of care based on zip codes rather than the unique challenges of each patient, and is misguided and ill-considered. The letter urges CMS to withdraw the proposed payment model.
Our Mission
Medicare represents a promise made to Americans that they will have access to quality affordable health care as they age or if they become disabled. The Partnership to Protect Medicare formed in 2011 to make sure that promise is kept for those Medicare beneficiaries who rely on life changing treatments and cures delivered through Medicare Part B.
Supported by patient advocacy organizations, medical providers and leaders in the health care industry, our mission is to fight experimental changes that will reduce, and in some cases eliminate, access to critical care for some of Medicare's most vulnerable patients. Through a variety of advocacy efforts, we seek to call attention to the impact of modifications to Medicare Part B on beneficiaries and to ensure that the government does not implement changes that could hurt Medicare recipients.
