Thank you, Chairman Roskam for holding this hearing, and thank you to our witnesses for joining us today.
As we discuss the issue of innovation, it’s important that we not lose sight of the broader context in which we are having this conversation. Innovation should not be a scattershot assortment of new technologies or novel concepts that lack a connection to the overarching goal of improving quality and reducing costs. In order for this to be a worthwhile discussion, we have to emphasize a link between the new ideas that we are exploring and actions that will result in real improvements in the health care system.
This is certainly something we had in mind when we developed the Affordable Care Act. The ACA was not only a landmark reform of consumer protections and a historic expansion of coverage for tens of millions of Americans - it was also a huge step forward in how we deliver health care.
The law placed a heavy emphasis on innovations that have moved us closer to a payment system that emphasizes value-based care. It facilitated the creation of hundreds of Accountable Care Organizations, which have served as the backbone of payment reforms. In the past few years, ACOs and other innovative initiatives established by the Affordable Care Act have already achieved measurable savings and significant improvements in quality.
The Affordable Care Act also established the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, providing us with powerful tools to test delivery system reforms and new ways of paying for care. Under the Obama Administration, the Innovation Center embarked on a number of initiatives that were reducing inefficiencies and holding providers in a variety of settings accountable for outcomes. This showed that the Administration’s commitment to innovation was backed up by meaningful actions and transformative reforms.
However, the same cannot be said of the current Administration. Last summer, CMS announced that it was pulling back from an Innovation Center demonstration that was testing value-based reimbursement for hip and knee replacements and an episodic payment model for cardiac care. Similarly, the Administration has also abandoned Secretary Burwell’s ambitious effort to tie 90 percent of Medicare payments to value or quality by the end of 2018. And earlier this week, CMS issued a vague Request for Information seeking feedback on an ill-conceived Direct Private Contracting experiment that many seniors worry could undermine the Medicare promise.
As we face growing challenges in health care, such as the continuing rise in prescription drug costs, it is incumbent upon the Administration to show more leadership on these issues. But, despite rhetoric and big promises, we have yet to see a focus on real innovation from the President, CMS, or the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
I hope that we can discuss these and other issues in more detail this morning and begin to explore a new path forward.
