Breaking News:

CMS proposed yesterday several new policies for 2020 that aim to lower prescription drug prices by taking aim at the way Medicare pays for medications. In addition, the agency is also considering a policy that would pass drug rebates on to seniors to lower their drug costs at the pharmacy counter. This effort follows other actions CMS took earlier this year to lower cost by modernizing Medicare.

How will Medicare/Medicaid adapt to new technologies in healthcare?

The cost of healthcare has been rising at an annual rate of 7% be it company-sponsored health insurance, public insurance such as Medicare and Medicaid, or private insurance. As such, healthcare was top of mind for many individuals this 2018. In the November midterm election many items related to healthcare such as Medicaid expansion, provider pay and indirect effects on the Affordable Care Act could be found on the ballot.

Chronic illness and mental health conditions account for 90% of health care costs, and the industry is also burdened by the cost of new medical technologies. However, the problem can also be the solution: the breaking down of barriers to interoperability, the development of new genomics-based testing that assesses disease-risk, aids in selecting medication based on your genetic profile, and new immunotherapies that revolutionize cancer care are changing how we approach disease identification, management, prevention, and improving patient care. Furthermore, the future of the health insurance industry will depend on it adapting to the technological and research-based advancements that are transforming the entire healthcare industry. Confronting these challenges while striving to create high quality, accessible healthcare at lower cost is a daunting undertaking. As such, industry stakeholders are working to create a transparent system that exposes where problems exist and develop innovative solutions to address those problems. One of the organizations developing transparency is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS, the world’s largest health insurer, covers one third of the US population and processes over 1.2 billion client claims a year with a budget of over one trillion dollars.

The Upcoming PMWC 2019 Conference – January 20-23, Santa Clara, CA – features Seema Verma, 15th Administrator of CMS, for a fireside chat on Day 3 (Jan. 23) in the Patient Data Collection Track (PROGRAM). She’ll discuss healthcare quality, accessibility, and outcomes.

A few highlights about Seema Verma:

• Confirmed in March 2017 as the 15^th Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
• Administers healthcare programs for more than 130 million Americans every day and oversees a $1 trillion budget, 26% of the total federal budget.
• Committed to implementing an aggressive agenda that is focused on:
  • fostering innovation in health care by focusing on interoperability through the MyHealthEData initiative which takes a comprehensive approach to ensuring that patients control their health information throughout their healthcare journey
  • advancing telehealth to give patients choices and new options in accessing health care, allowing them to become active members of the care continuum outside of a hospital setting and promoting long-term engagement between patients and practitioners
  • reducing burden on physicians with a Patients Over Paperwork Initiative that allows physicians to focus on providing high-quality care for their patients

Don’t miss this opportunity to understand how Medicare/Medicaid adapts to new technologies in healthcare, how healthcare leaders stay up-to-date with the constant increase in medical technologies, how the Medicare program deals with the vast amount of claims (> 1 billion) that Medicare receives each year, and how the future of the Affordable Care Act will affect Medicare and Medicaid; join us January 20-23 for PMWC in Santa Clara.