Upton, Brady, Hatch Statement on Administration's New Medicare Experiment

Statement

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) issued the following statement regarding the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation's (CMMI) proposed changes to the Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model:

"Yesterday's announcement marks another troubling example of unelected bureaucrats making decisions behind closed doors that impact the American people and their healthcare. This decision was made with a complete lack of transparency and clear disregard for the people and stakeholders who will be impacted the most. CMMI's proposed experiment on seniors stands to limit access to the critical care the sickest Medicare beneficiaries rely on, as well as disrupt how health care providers serve patients in the future. The model could ultimately result in seniors' receiving different standards of care based solely on where they live in the country.

"Medicare is an important program and policy decisions should be made in the light of day and reflect our democratic process. Moving forward, our committees will continue to pursue aggressive oversight over CMMI to ensure Medicare is meeting the needs of those the program is intended to serve."

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