Article
Medicare Ruling Would Hurt Alzheimer's Patients
The U.S. health care bureaucracy is expanding; both dramatically (e.g. the implementation of the Affordable Care Act) and gradually. A recent decision proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) exemplifies the dangers to medical innovation and patients represented by the gradual expansion of the health care bureaucracy.
Large, and expanding, bureaucracies thwart innovation. And, health care bureaucracies are no different. The U.S. health care bureaucracy is expanding; both dramatically (e.g. the implementation of the Affordable Care Act) and gradually. A recent decision proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) exemplifies the dangers to medical innovation and patients represented by the gradual expansion of the health care bureaucracy.
CMS has issued a draft decision that, if it were to become effective, would deny payment for a new FDA-approved PET scan technology. This technology can provide certain patients with earlier more accurate diagnosis for Alzheimer’s versus other forms of dementia.
The FDA is the federal agency officially tasked with protecting public health when it comes to ensuring the safety and efficacy of new drugs and medical devices. To fulfill this mission the FDA imposes a long and arduous process on prospective new medical technologies.
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Source: Forbes
