Yesterday, Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) Chairman Tony Coelho sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma commented on the delay of the final rule entitled Advancing Care Coordination Through Episode Payment Models (EPMs); Cardiac Rehabilitation Incentive Payment Model; and Changes to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model. In the letter, Chairman Coelho provides several patient-centered recommendations, and urges Administrator Verma to advance reforms with the patient’s voice being at the center of decision making.  “PIPC looks forward to bringing the voices of patients, people with disabilities, and their families to the discussion of how to advance patient-centered principles throughout an evolving health care system,” wrote Chairman Coelho. 

Yesterday, PIPC Chairman Tony Coelho joined 38 patient groups in sending a letter to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) providing feedback on the proposed revisions to ICER’s value framework. In the letter, Chairman Coelho offers numerous suggestions urging ICER to formalize its patient engagement process within ICER’s value framework, with the focus of these suggestions centering around providing patient-centered reforms. As Chairman Coelho states, “Patients and their advocates will be the first to say that value is critical – improving health outcomes and making care efficient is a priority for our communities as well. We agree with ICER that stakeholders at all levels of health care require frameworks and tools to support their decision-making and achieve value, including payers. But regardless of the purpose of the framework or tool, or its intended audience, whether it’s payers, providers, or patients, it is crucial that the framework is patient-centered.”