Device-makers slam Medicare competitive bidding expansion

{mosads}”These types of proposals may serve short-term interests to cut Medicare spending, but they ignore the longer-term cumulative impact these policies have on patient access to appropriate treatments and cures.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the new policy on Wednesday. Officials estimated that savings would total $25.7 billion for the Medicare Part B Trust Fund and $17.1 billion for beneficiaries over the next nine years.

“Using market-based prices set through competition will help ensure the long-term sustainability of the Medicare program,” the agency said in a press memo.

AdvaMed has expressed concerns in the past about the impact of competitive bidding on patients and small device companies. The rule enacting the cost-saving program came out in 2007.