Medicare Part B

A new report from the American Cancer Society showed that cancer mortality rates continue to decline at record pace in the United States. It was the top story in hematology/oncology last week.

A new Trump administration policy aimed at lowering drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries has drawn criticism from the medical community, especially those in the oncology field.

The American College of Rheumatology has urged CMS to reconsider its recent interim final rule that would establish a “most-favored nation” payment model for Medicare Part B drugs, arguing it would disrupt patient access to rheumatic care.

CMS published an update to the reimbursement calculation used to determine transitional pass-through payment for the category of bone substitute products that includes Wright Medical Group’s Augment Regenerative Solutions products.

Medicare fee-for-service payment cuts are hampering volume-based compensation for physicians, but the effects can be softened if a shift is made to value-based compensation, a speaker said at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy.

Unlike with meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials, seven real-world studies of patients with peripheral artery disease have shown no long-term mortality signal related to use of paclitaxel-coated devices, a speaker said at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy.

Only one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries eligible for cardiac rehabilitation after a qualifying CV event underwent it, according to research published in Circulation.

Despite pressure from the Trump administration and Congress to curb rising drug costs, pharmaceutical companies — in what has become a common industry practice — have begun January 2020 by instituting a bevy of price increases.

Several CMS-designated permanent and product-specific J-codes recently went into effect, allowing three ophthalmology-minded pharmaceutical companies to expand reimbursement through commercial and Medicare insurance plans.

Despite pressure from the Trump administration and Congress to curb rising drug costs, pharmaceutical companies — in what has become a common industry practice — have begun January 2020 by instituting a bevy of price increases.