Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has introduced legislation that expands the role of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), making it an independent executive branch agency.
“It’s time to move MedPAC into the executive branch and away from the influence of special interests,” said Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. “Congress has proven itself to be inefficient and inconsistent in making decisions about provider reimbursement under Medicare. If we want serious improvements in our healthcare delivery system, then we need to reform MedPAC’s current authority to include fully establishing and implementing Medicare reimbursement rules. Congress should leave the reimbursement rules to the independent healthcare experts.”
MedPAC currently exists as a legislative entity that advises Congress on Medicare payment policies. However, it has no power to implement its recommendations.
Rockefeller said insulating Medicare payment and coverage policies from the pressures of special interests would mean that Americans could be confident that Medicare decisions are based on the best and most objective evidence.
“Establishing MedPAC as an independent executive branch agency - which can only change through an act of Congress - is the cornerstone of improving our delivery system reform,” said Rockefeller. “Healthcare reform will only be successful if we craft transformative changes. By giving MedPAC independent authority to decide and implement reimbursement policies, with a formal process for seeking and considering public input, we are giving the true experts the chance to weigh in on healthcare.”
MedPAC is an independent agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program.
Rockefeller’s MedPAC Reform Act of 2009 would revise MedPAC’s mission to make it an executive agency modeled after the Federal Reserve Board. The legislation would elevate MedPAC to be an independent, executive branch entity with the power to implement recommendations that are more insulated from special interests and more accountable to the public.
According to Rockefeller’s staff, the legislation would also inform new research in health services, test new and innovative payment models for provider reimbursement and expand the capacity to evaluate basic and health services research for reimbursement.