/PRNewswire/ -- Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) today proposed a new amendment to the current healthcare reform bill which will preserve access to care for millions of Medicare patients seen by a medical specialist.
Senate Amendment 3163 would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay for one year implementation of its decision to eliminate consultation codes for specialists. A survey of its members recently conducted by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) indicated that if the consultation codes were eliminated four out of five endocrinologists would be forced to drastically reduce or eliminate the number of Medicare patients seen in their practices.
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) fully endorses the Specter Amendment. AACE has opposed the CMS ruling since it was originally announced. In a letter sent August 26, 2009, AACE cautioned CMS that the result of the ruling "will be a significant reduction in the quality of care received by older Americans when they need it the most." The CMS rule, which goes into effect on January 1, 2010, would no longer allow endocrinologists and other specialists to bill for consultations provided for patients referred to them by primary care physicians.
"The Specter amendment will enable Medicare patients, the major segment of our population that is most vulnerable to serious illness, to continue to have access to specialists," AACE President and Chief of Endocrinology at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Dr. Jeffrey R. Garber said. "It will also give CMS and Congress a chance to critically re-examine this flawed proposal."
In addition to AACE, the amendment is being endorsed by: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), American Medical Group Association (AMGA), American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), American College of Cardiology (ACC), American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), American College of Rheumatology (ACR), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Psychiatric Association (APA), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), American Urological Association (AUA), Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations (CSRO), Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (JCAAI), North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and The Endocrine Society (TES).
AACE is encouraging all medical specialists and their patients to write their Members of Congress asking them to support the Specter Amendment and to sign an online petition to reverse the elimination of these codes at www.keepthecodes.com.
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Showing posts with label patients. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patients. Show all posts
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Federal Coordinating Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research to Hold Public Listening Session in Washington D.C.
The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research
will hold a public listening session on April 14, 2009, in Washington
D.C. The council will hear public comment regarding comparative
effectiveness research and the Coordinating Council's activities.
"The Obama Administration is committed to openness and transparency,"
said HHS Spokeswoman Jenny Backus. "Comparative effectiveness research
will expand choices for patients, not limit them, and the council looks
forward to hearing from all parties as it moves ahead."
Individuals interested in addressing the council may nominate themselves
to deliver a three minute oral presentation before the council.
Individuals and organizations may also submit written comments for the
council's consideration. The public may also attend the session, listen
live via audio conference or watch the session online at
www.hhs.gov/recovery.
The 15-member council, created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, will assist the agencies of the federal government,
including HHS and the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, as
well as others, to coordinate comparative effectiveness and related
health services research. The Recovery Act appropriated$300 million for
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, $400 million for the
National Institutes of Health, and $400 million for allocation at the
discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support
comparative effectiveness research.
The council will provide input on priorities for the $400 million fund
in the Recovery Act that the Secretary will allocate to advance this
type of research and public input will shape the council's
recommendations. The council will not make final decisions about the
kind of projects that will be funded.
To register to attend the listening session, nominate a person to make a
three-minute oral statement, and/or submit a written statement for the
Coordinating Council's consideration, go to
http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/CER/index.html. Individuals should
register by Monday, April 13, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Space and audio
conference lines are limited.
DATE: Tuesday, April
14, 2009
LOCATION: Hubert H. Humphrey
Building,
Room 800
200
Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
TIME: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
EDT.
will hold a public listening session on April 14, 2009, in Washington
D.C. The council will hear public comment regarding comparative
effectiveness research and the Coordinating Council's activities.
"The Obama Administration is committed to openness and transparency,"
said HHS Spokeswoman Jenny Backus. "Comparative effectiveness research
will expand choices for patients, not limit them, and the council looks
forward to hearing from all parties as it moves ahead."
Individuals interested in addressing the council may nominate themselves
to deliver a three minute oral presentation before the council.
Individuals and organizations may also submit written comments for the
council's consideration. The public may also attend the session, listen
live via audio conference or watch the session online at
www.hhs.gov/recovery.
The 15-member council, created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, will assist the agencies of the federal government,
including HHS and the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, as
well as others, to coordinate comparative effectiveness and related
health services research. The Recovery Act appropriated$300 million for
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, $400 million for the
National Institutes of Health, and $400 million for allocation at the
discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support
comparative effectiveness research.
The council will provide input on priorities for the $400 million fund
in the Recovery Act that the Secretary will allocate to advance this
type of research and public input will shape the council's
recommendations. The council will not make final decisions about the
kind of projects that will be funded.
To register to attend the listening session, nominate a person to make a
three-minute oral statement, and/or submit a written statement for the
Coordinating Council's consideration, go to
http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/CER/index.html. Individuals should
register by Monday, April 13, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Space and audio
conference lines are limited.
DATE: Tuesday, April
14, 2009
LOCATION: Hubert H. Humphrey
Building,
Room 800
200
Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
TIME: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
EDT.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Final Economic Stimulus Bill Permits Americans' Personal Health Information to Be Sold for Research/ Public Health Purposes WITHOUT Patients' Consent
Final Economic Stimulus Bill Permits Americans' Personal Health Information to Be Sold for Research and Public Health Purposes WITHOUT Patients' Consent
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The final economic stimulus bill permits Americans' personal health information to be exchanged and sold -- without patients' consent -- for research and public-health purposes, warns the Institute for Health Freedom (Washington, DC) and Citizens' Council on Health Care (Saint Paul, MN).
The bill also mandates the plan for each American to have a single electronic health record by 2014, without opt-out or patient consent provisions.
"This bill is very misleading because while it promises to outlaw the selling of data, the exceptions to the rule are huge and allow Americans' personal health data to be exchanged and sold for research and public-health purposes without patients' consent," says Sue Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom.
"This is a historical and unbelievable assault on the privacy rights of all Americans. Personal health information should not be exchanged and sold for research and public-health surveillance without patients' consent," stresses Twila Brase, president of Citizens' Council on Health Care. "Patient data belongs to the patient. A pocket full of cash should not undo a patient's right to protect their medical privacy."
Blevins adds, "Most Americans have no idea that the so-called HIPAA privacy rule doesn't give patients the freedom to give or withhold consent before their personal health information can be shared with others for many purposes. Digitizing people's health records combined with allowing researchers and public-health officials to buy their data from doctors and health plans is going to pave the way for unconsented research on millions of Americans."
These privacy advocates urge all Americans and policymakers to carefully examine the Final Conference Report, Part A on the economic stimulus bill, pdf page 296 (p. 11) and pdf pages 391-395 (pp. 106-110).
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/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The final economic stimulus bill permits Americans' personal health information to be exchanged and sold -- without patients' consent -- for research and public-health purposes, warns the Institute for Health Freedom (Washington, DC) and Citizens' Council on Health Care (Saint Paul, MN).
The bill also mandates the plan for each American to have a single electronic health record by 2014, without opt-out or patient consent provisions.
"This bill is very misleading because while it promises to outlaw the selling of data, the exceptions to the rule are huge and allow Americans' personal health data to be exchanged and sold for research and public-health purposes without patients' consent," says Sue Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom.
"This is a historical and unbelievable assault on the privacy rights of all Americans. Personal health information should not be exchanged and sold for research and public-health surveillance without patients' consent," stresses Twila Brase, president of Citizens' Council on Health Care. "Patient data belongs to the patient. A pocket full of cash should not undo a patient's right to protect their medical privacy."
Blevins adds, "Most Americans have no idea that the so-called HIPAA privacy rule doesn't give patients the freedom to give or withhold consent before their personal health information can be shared with others for many purposes. Digitizing people's health records combined with allowing researchers and public-health officials to buy their data from doctors and health plans is going to pave the way for unconsented research on millions of Americans."
These privacy advocates urge all Americans and policymakers to carefully examine the Final Conference Report, Part A on the economic stimulus bill, pdf page 296 (p. 11) and pdf pages 391-395 (pp. 106-110).
-----
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