The letter came in response to an editorial entitled, Are Newer Medical Treatments Better? Not Always, which lamented the fact that the recently passed health care bill did not curtail “the use of unnecessary, overly costly and even dangerous new technologies and surgical procedures” by including CER findings in Medicare coverage and reimbursement decisions.
“Creating a body with the power to enforce national guidelines for treatment based on clinical and cost effectiveness would be a serious distortion of the comparative effectiveness research (CER) provisions of the health reform law. It would confirm the fear of many that the real intent was to give government decision makers new power to cut costs by denying patients access to medically beneficial tests and treatments.”
Tony Coelho and the Partnership to Improve Patient Care worked during the health care debate to ensure that patient-centered provisions were included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Act. PIPC will now help oversee the law’s implementation process, helping to make sure CER stays centered on patients.