IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vizient, Inc. today submitted its comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on their FY 2021 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule. Vizient’s comments provided suggestions regarding the proposed new Medicare Severity Adjusted Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) for Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and voiced concern over additional reporting requirements that would add regulatory burdens for hospitals.
In its comments, Vizient supported the development of a new MS-DRG for CAR-T cell therapy, but urged CMS to maintain flexibility to ensure that the reimbursement rates for the costly treatments support patient access and appropriately recognize hospital costs beyond the cost of treatment itself.
“We strongly believe it is essential to set a precedent which protects beneficiary access to care – especially as medical advances continue to be made and innovative, life-saving therapies like CAR T-cell therapies continue to emerge. It is also imperative for CMS ensure that hospitals and providers are receiving appropriate and adequate payment for providing these therapies,” said Shoshana Krilow, vice president, public policy and government relations for Vizient.
Another key theme of the letter was urging CMS to minimize burdens on providers. Vizient expressed concern regarding the administrative burden associated with additional reporting requirements. In addition, Vizient recommended the agency work with stakeholders to ensure quality measures provide meaningful, actionable insights to support performance improvement.
Vizient is the nation’s largest member-driven health care performance improvement company, providing innovative supply chain capabilities, data-driven solutions and expertise that lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc. provides solutions and services that improve the delivery of high-value care by aligning cost, quality and market performance for more than 50% of the nation’s acute care providers, which includes 95% of the nation’s academic medical centers, and more than 20% of ambulatory providers. Vizient provides expertise, analytics and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $100 billion in annual purchasing volume, to improve patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient has earned a World’s Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute every year since its inception. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.
