CMS Listening Sessions: Real or Placebo?

Hannah Wolf  0:03  
Welcome to Healthcare Policy pop. I'm Hannah Wolf. It's Thursday, November 9 2023. Today's pop topics CMS has kicked off its listening sessions as a part of drug price negotiations. We speak with a field expert on how it's going. Just a few days ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began what it calls patient focused listening sessions. Longtime followers know patients rising now has been tracking CMS has record of taking patient input. On behalf of patients. We'd like to know how impactful these sessions will be. Dr. Bruce Altevogt served on the Board of Health Sciences policy at the Institute of Medicine. And he says first and foremost, he's happy patients are speaking that 

Dr. Bruce Altevogt  0:52  
I'm glad that CMS has created this forum. I think it's a very important opportunity to be able to hear from some of the patients impacted, but I'm even more grateful for the members of the community who have participated. They're taking time out of their days to provide important perspectives and values of what they think is important.

Hannah Wolf  1:15  
Is cms actually listening Altevogt says he thinks so. But the agency needs continued help to apply what they got out of the sessions. 

Dr. Bruce Altevogt  1:25  
I absolutely do believe CMS is taking seriously the broader question is whether or not CMS has the experience skill sets and mechanisms to take into account what they're hearing from the stakeholders. And I think that's where we as a community have to work with CMS and support and enable them to be able to utilize the input that they're receiving from all stakeholders into these mechanisms.

Hannah Wolf  1:49  
We also asked Altevogt if this would make an actual difference in the lives of patients.

Dr. Bruce Altevogt  1:55  
It has to make a difference, right? We are all in this space to serve patients serve our loved ones serve our family members serve our neighbors and serve those we don't know. We need to figure out ways to ensure that their voices are heard.

Hannah Wolf  2:10  
Altevogt says it will be important to get input from many different patients, not just the ones who participate in. 

Dr. Bruce Altevogt  2:18  
I really encourage everyone involved in this process CMS patient organizations that pharmaceutical companies that are negotiating to ensure that the views and perspectives of everybody who's impacted and sees value from the medicines are represented. And not just those who are able to join a computer conversation during lunch hour of the standard work day.

Hannah Wolf  2:40  
We'll put a link to the listening sessions in the show notes, and we plan to follow up on the sessions once they conclude in a few weeks.

Hannah Wolf  2:52  
A new article in the Wall Street Journal dives deep into one of the issues we bring up on this newscast all the time. It's titled, Same drug two prices why the higher price prevails. The article explains how the health system is so convoluted that drug makers have to set two different prices for the same drug and many health plans choose to cover the more expensive option. This means patients pay hundreds more and Out of Pocket Charges for their prescriptions. On a related note, in a recent episode of the health care policy pop we had Wayne Weingarten on the show to discuss the state of biosimilars we'll link to the full news article and that episode in the show notes. Finally, today, Congress is considering whether to lift a 13 year ban on physician owned hospitals. A discussion draft was introduced to the House Health subcommittee and would amend the banned on physician self referrals. Quote" for certain rural hospitals that are located a certain distance from an existing hospital or a critical access hospital." The American Medical Association says this would inject much needed competition into the market. Find a link to that article in the show notes. That's all for today. We're back on Tuesday for another health care policy pop a resource of patients rising now. I'm Hannah Wolf, have a great day.