GOVERNMENTCMS offers plan for doctor-dispensed drug optionOncologists and others cite potential patient access problems and administrative burdens with this Medicare drug-buying alternative. Still, there's time to comment and ask for changes.By David Glendinning, amednews staff. July 18, 2005. Washington -- Medicare regulators have a plan designed to cut out the legwork when it comes to obtaining physician-administered drugs, but some doctors are finding that the alternative might be more trouble than it's worth. The competitive acquisition program will allow participating physicians to obtain chemotherapy treatments and other injectable drugs covered under Medicare Part B directly from one of five vendors that the government chooses through a bidding process. If doctors decide to join the program, which will launch in January 2006, they would no longer need to pay for all of these drugs up-front and then bill Medicare and their patients to be reimbursed. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials late last month released more details about the initiative, which will cover 181 drugs. Those medications represent more than 85% of the dollars Medicare spends on physician-injectable drugs. CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, said that competitive acquisition will be an attractive option for practices that spend too much money and energy trying to find the best prices for these medications on their own. "The program frees physicians from the administrative work of purchasing and procuring drugs in their offices so that they can focus more time and resources on providing the best treatments for their patients," Dr. McClellan said. Doctors would need to bill Medicare only for the cost of administering the drugs themselves. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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