On Monday, Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), convened a roundtable discussion with Minnesota-area health care leaders to discuss ways to further increase the use of medical and health care innovation. The same day, under President Trump’s leadership, CMS issued a proposed rule that unleashes innovative technology so Medicare beneficiaries have access to the latest, most cutting-edge devices. This announcement represents a step forward that will help demolish the existing bureaucratic barriers that have created a “valley of death” for innovative products, resulting in lag times and lack of access for America’s seniors. This proposed rule delivers on President Trump’s direction to cut government red tape so seniors can access the latest treatments, which he issued in his October 3, 2019 Executive Order on Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors.
The President’s Executive Order (EO 13890) instructs CMS to encourage innovation for patients. This is to be done by streamlining the process for bringing innovative medical products to market, including to minimize and eliminate, the time and steps between approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and coverage decisions by CMS. In response, CMS is proposing the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) rule, that would provide a new Medicare coverage pathway for breakthrough devices on the day they receive FDA market authorization.
In addition to U.S. Representative Tom Emmer, representatives from 3M Health Care Business Group, Allina Health, Atricure, Boston Scientific, Mayo Clinic, Medical Alley Association, Medtronic, RadWave Technologies, Syntiron, University Enterprise Laboratories, and Zepto Life Technology participated in the discussion and shared their experiences and insights, highlighting innovation happening in Minnesota.
For a press release and fact sheet on the proposed rule (CMS-3372-P), please visit: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom
The proposed rule (CMS-3372-P) can be downloaded from the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection
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