News in brief - April 18, 2011

Grassley, Wyden team up to publish physician data - Deputy named new health IT chief - Many Massachusetts residents see state health reforms as ineffective - House bill would allow VA to bill Medicare

Grassley, Wyden team up to publish physician data

Two key senators have unveiled a bipartisan bill that would release certain physician Medicare pay data to the public.

Sens. Charles Grassley (R, Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D, Ore.) introduced the Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act on April 7.

Grassley had offered a similar proposal in a measure aimed against health care fraud in March. Wyden at the time said he was working on his own version, but the lawmakers decided to join forces.

The Medicare DATA Act would require the Dept. of Health and Human Services to launch a searchable online Medicare database available at no cost to the public. The information would not list identifiable patient information but would indicate what individual doctors billed Medicare.

"Shedding light on Medicare claims will be helpful to those making medical decisions, offer insight into how Medicare dollars are being spent and prevent wasteful spending and fraud," Wyden said.

The American Medical Association, along with others in organized medicine, oppose such releases of raw physician data. The physician groups say it amounts to a violation of physician privacy.

Sharing pay data between government agencies is the most effective way to battle fraud, the AMA and other groups said.

Deputy named new health IT chief

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on April 8 named Farzad Mostashari, MD, as head of the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Dr. Mostashari joined the office in July 2009 as deputy national coordinator for programs and policy. He takes over from David Blumenthal, MD.

Previously, Dr. Mostashari was the New York City Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene's assistant commissioner for the Primary Care Information Project. He facilitated the adoption of prevention-oriented health IT by more than 1,500 health professionals in underserved communities, according to HHS. He also worked on quality measurement issues with the city's Center of Excellence in Public Health Informatics, among other projects.

Dr. Mostashari did his graduate training at the Harvard School of Public Health and Yale Medical School and an internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He also was a lead investigator for recent outbreaks of West Nile virus and anthrax in New York City.

Many Massachusetts residents see state health reforms as ineffective

Nearly half of Massachusetts residents said the state's health system reforms, enacted in 2006, are not working, according to a poll released April 6 by Suffolk University and WHDH-TV in Boston. An additional 38% said the law is working, and 13% were undecided.

The poll did not ask respondents why they thought the law was not working, but state leaders are working to preserve the state's Commonwealth Connector reforms by containing health costs. The state's health reforms, a model for the national reform effort, require residents to have health coverage or pay a tax penalty. Massachusetts' law has reduced the percentage of uninsured residents from 10.6% in 2006 to 4.4% in 2009, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The poll is based on a sample of 500 likely voters and was conducted April 3-5. It is available online (www.suffolk.edu/images/content/FINAL.7NEWS.Suffolk.Marginals.April.5.2011.pdf).

House bill would allow VA to bill Medicare

A proposal in the House would allow military veterans to use Medicare benefits to receive health services from the Veterans Health Administration at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

Rep. Bob Filner (D, Calif.) reintroduced the Medicare VA Reimbursement Act on April 6. Current law prohibits the VA from billing Medicare for services provided at department health care facilities. Filner's proposal would allow the VA to bill Medicare when a veteran is enrolled in Medicare Part A or B.

"Because VA cannot bill Medicare, elderly veterans are unable to use their Medicare benefits, even if they may prefer to receive care at a VA facility among their fellow veterans," Filner said. "So for those veterans, they basically forgo the hard-earned dollars that they contributed towards Medicare benefits during their working years."

The bill has three co-sponsors: Rep. Joe Baca (D, Calif.), Rep. Shelley Berkley (D, Nev.) and Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D, Guam).