Under President Trump’s leadership, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that unleashes innovative technology so Medicare beneficiaries have access to the latest, most cutting-edge devices. Today’s action 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 Executive Order on Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors.
“President Trump is delivering on the promise he made to Americans: a better, stronger Medicare program for today and the years ahead,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar. “This new proposal would give Medicare beneficiaries faster access to the latest lifesaving technologies and provide more support for breakthrough innovations by finally delivering Medicare reimbursement at the same time as FDA approval.”
“For new technologies, CMS coverage approval has been a chicken and egg issue. Innovators had to prove their technologies were appropriate for seniors, but that was almost impossible since the technology was not yet covered by Medicare and thus not widely used enough to demonstrate their suitability for Medicare beneficiaries,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “These efforts will ensure seniors get access to the latest technologies while lowering costs for innovators. Arcane bureaucratic requirements have no business preventing seniors’ access to a technology that might save their lives.”
You can read more from CMS here.
