April 29, 2016 – Doctor Payments

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Anchor lead:  Much resistance has emerged regarding new rules for paying many cancer doctors, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Oncologists who deliver chemotherapy in clinics and offices around the country are protesting new proposed rules from CMS, which handles payments under Medicare and Medicaid, regarding how they are paid for these services.  Proponents say the rules will remove incentives for doctors to use the most expensive new drugs, while detractors argue it will hamstring care delivery.  William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, thinks a solution is emerging.

Nelson: As we can keep better and more accurate data about outcomes, in other words, quality, I think in the end people want to pay for quality, in the end people who deliver health care want to see the highest quality, and that quality is going to trump the day when we can measure it accurately. You get the best outcomes for everybody, that’s what we’re going to want, and that is what we’re ultimately going to want to pay for.  And the sooner we can do that the better off we’re going to be.  until we get to that time we’re going to have to manage our way through the payment systems that we have but quality is the real answer.   :30

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.