Press Releases
Bucshon, Kind, Marchant, Ruiz, Introduce Bipartisan Bill; H.R. 4206 – Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017
Washington,
November 2, 2017
Tags:
Healthcare
Washington, D.C. – Congressmen Larry Bucshon, M.D. (IN-08), Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36), Kenny Marchant (TX-24), and Ron Kind (WI-03), introduced bipartisan legislation, the Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017, to enable increased physician coordination leading to better patient care and Medicare spending efficiency.
The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017 (MCCIA) would reduce legal barriers for physicians to enter into agreements with other healthcare providers to better coordinate patient care and more efficiently use Medicare dollars. MCCIA would give the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) the regulatory authority to modernize the Stark Law by creating certain exceptions for alternative payment models and removing barriers to the development and operation of such arrangements. Dr. Bucshon stated, “As a physician, I know first-hand that patients can have medical issues requiring a coordinated team of physicians and other healthcare professionals to be on the case for effective treatment. The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act would remove legal barriers that currently prevent physicians from entering into innovative payment models that can lead to better outcomes for patients, while also saving Medicare money. By modernizing the Stark Law through the Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017, we are giving physicians greater ability to more effectively and efficiently treat their patients while saving taxpayer money at the same time.” “My whole career has been about improving health outcomes, both as a physician and in Congress, which is why I am proud to sponsor this bipartisan, commonsense bill to do just that,” said Dr. Ruiz. “The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act will give physicians the flexibility they need to better coordinate care, ensure patients have access to the treatments that work best for them, and help keep costs down. We should be doing all that we can to improve efficiency and streamline the delivery of care.” “I am excited to join my colleagues on this legislation to modernize certain aspects of Stark Law. It is passed time for our health care system to deliver for patients and this bipartisan bill represents a move forward on the concept of value over volume in Medicare. The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017 (MCCIA) will give physicians the tools they need to utilize innovation, coordinate care and most importantly allow healthcare providers to get back to doing what they do best – serving, treating, and healing our constituents.”- Rep. Kenny Marchant “Those of us who live in western and central Wisconsin have likely experienced first-hand the benefits of a coordinated patient centered approach to health care. We need to be encouraging more health care providers to use this approach, and can do so by passing the Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017,” said Rep. Kind.
The bill can be found here. With support from the following groups:
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