Patient groups rally against gainsharing
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
The United to Protect Quality Care coalition has requested a meeting with CMS staff to ensure that gainsharing demonstration programs incorporate safe harbors to protect patient access to medical devices. In a Feb. 27 letter to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, the 14-group coalition offers to contribute to the structuring of the demonstration. Authorized by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, gainsharing demonstration programs at six sites are slated to begin in 2007 (1"The Gray Sheet" Jan. 2, 2006, p. 10). The coalition also urges the agency to expressly state that the sites refer to individual hospitals rather than chains, an interpretation AdvaMed supports as well...