Press Releases

AdvaMed Commends New Device Incentives In CMS Proposed Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), issued the following statement on CMS’s release Monday evening of proposed CY 2020 Medicare payment rules – including the CY 2020 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgery Center proposed rule and the CY 2020 End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule – that would support patient access to medical technology innovation:

“These proposed rules reflect the importance HHS Secretary Azar, CMS Administrator Verma, and the Administration have placed on access to medtech innovation and the role it plays in treating human suffering. They will also help spur development of transformational technologies and improve patient outcomes. We thank Secretary Azar and Administrator Verma, and their staffs, for their hard work on behalf of the millions of patients for whom access to these medical technologies is so crucial.

“We look forward to reviewing the proposed rules in more detail, and working closely with CMS on implementation and additional ways to facilitate greater efficiencies in the coverage and payment process.”

CMS’s OPPS proposed rule would provide a new opportunity for patients to access breakthrough innovations in the outpatient setting, similar to the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) policy the agency proposed for the inpatient setting in its FY 2020 IPPS proposed rule in April. The proposed policies will allow FDA-designated breakthrough products to more easily qualify for technology add-on payments under the outpatient passthrough payment and New Technology Add-On Payment (NTAP) programs to help make sure hospital reimbursement is adequate and that patients can access new innovations.

The ESRD proposed rule would add a needed innovation incentive to the ESRD PPS, to ensure dialysis clinics and the Medicare beneficiaries they serve have access to new advanced medical equipment and supplies used in dialysis treatment.