Staff | Issue: April 2007 |
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) makes recommendations to Congress on Medicare policy including physician payments and patient access issues. These recommendations can directly impact rheumatology care coverage and rheumatologist reimbursement. Representatives of the ACR and partners recently met with new MedPAC Executive Director James E. Mathews, PhD, to discuss appropriate recognition of rheumatology care…
Many Medicare Part D plans continue to request prior authorizations for several drugs commonly prescribed by rheumatologists. The ACR has been working diligently with Robert Bennett of the Physician Regulatory Issues Team (PRIT) to avoid the same problems many physicians had last year. PRIT advises all physicians to write “for Part D” along with the diagnosis on the prescription, to verify that the drugs are for Part D diagnoses and should not be paid under Part B. This way the administrators of the prescription drug plans (PDPs) can waive the need for a new prior authorization—saving time and money for physicians, pharmacists, and the PDPs.
MedPAC recommends deep cuts to physician payments
Rheumatologists and patients report mixed experiences with the new prescription drug benefit