[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 114 (Friday, September 22, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               MEDICARE PATIENT ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY ACT

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                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2000

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4395, the 
Medicare Patient Access to Technology Act which has been introduced by 
my colleagues Jim Ramstad of Minnesota and Karen Thurman of Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4395 has one simple objective: to speed the 
delivery of new medical technologies to patients covered under the 
Medicare program. Unfortunately, under our current system, it now takes 
up to five years before Medicare beneficiaries have access to new 
medical technologies thanks to an outdated and inefficient system now 
in place at the Health Care Financing Administration--HCFA. This 
system, which is nearly 35 years old, cannot effectively deal with the 
rapid pace of Medical innovation and has been responsible for denying 
needy patients the products and technologies that improve and save 
lives.
  In my district, Mr. Speaker, some of the most advanced medical 
research in the world is currently underway. Doctors and researchers at 
Mass. General Hospital, Children's Hospital, Boston University Medical 
Center and Tufts University School of Medicine are devoting their lives 
and careers to the development of new medical technologies that will 
help us live longer and more effectively treat a wide range of 
diseases.
  Once these technologies are fully developed and approved by the FDA 
as ``safe and effective'' their availability in the health care setting 
is delayed by a major roadblock--HCFA, where the new medical product 
must wait years for bureaucrats to decide whether Medicare will cover 
and pay for this technology. According to a report released this 
summer, HCFA can take up to five years to come to these decisions. Five 
years of bureaucratic consideration, while our seniors and other 
Medicare beneficiaries wait and wait.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, Medicare recipients are not the only ones 
to suffer because of HCFA's flawed reimbursement system. Third party 
payers--insurers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and health maintenance 
organizations--take their cue from Medicare when it comes to 
reimbursing new medical products. So, this ineffective reimbursement 
system can and does have a much larger, negative impact on all of us.
  Mr. Speaker, in the coming weeks, the House of Representatives will 
consider legislation aimed at addressing the shortcomings of the 
Medicare reforms contained in the Balanced Budget Refinement Act passed 
in the first session of this Congress. When we review this legislation, 
it is likely that we will be asked to consider inclusion of the 
Medicare reimbursement reforms contained in H.R. 4395.
  I urge my colleagues to support this effort and take advantage of 
this unique opportunity to modernize and streamline HCFA's 
reimbursement system for new medical technologies.
  H.R. 4395 will require HCFA to: Provide Congress with an annual 
report on its national coverage actions; annually update the payment 
levels for new medical products to reflect changes in medical 
technologies and practice; establish new procedures for reimbursement 
of new diagnostic tests; and improve the coding process, expediting the 
processing of reimbursement decisions.
  Mr. Speaker these changes will establish order and predictability to 
HCFA's Medicare reimbursement process and, more importantly, could 
reduce the amount of time it takes for new medical products to reach 
Medicare beneficiaries by one-half.
  Before we conclude our work in the 106th Congress, let's take action 
to ensure that Medicare recipients can count on the many benefits of 
new medical technologies. Let's include the provisions of H.R. 4395 in 
the amendments to the Balanced Budget Refinement Act.

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