2003 Reimbursement Updates
President Bush Signs Medicare Moderization Act (MMA)
December 8, 2003, President Bush signs H.R. 1 into law enacting sweeping changes to the Medicare program. The MMA modernizes Medicare by adding prescription drug coverage, expanding health plan options, improving health care access for rural Americans and adding preventive care services.
Congress Approves Medicare Reform Legislation
On Tuesday, November 25th, the Senate passed the conference report to H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003, sending the bill to the President for his signature (the House passed the conference report last Friday). MDMA is pleased that the bill includes provisions important to the device industry, including expanded coverage for clinical trials, improved payments for new technologies, and creation of a CMS office to oversee technology and innovation.
MDMA
Legislative Analysis 
House
Ways & Means Committee's summary
MDMA Responds to Health Affairs Article on the Costs of New Technology
MDMA supports coverage
and payment policies that improve patient access to improved
technologies. Our membership, comprised of the innovative
sector of the device industry, is responsible for developing
breakthrough technologies that improve patient care, provide
better outcomes, enhance quality of life, and, in the long
term, save money for the federal health care system. MDMA
is concerned that having too narrow a focus on reducing short-term
medical costs could reduce the incentives to invest in the
costly research and development process for new products.
On November 5, 2003, Health Affairs published a study on the
use of medical technology and its effect on costs. While the
study concludes that, in general, increases in the availability
of new medical technology result in higher spending, there
are some important caveats to note.
Read more.