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Statement Regarding Discussion Paper
on Evaluating Effectiveness
AMA statement to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee
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March 1, 2000
Statement to Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee
(MCAC) Executive Committee from E. Ratcliffe Anderson Jr.,
MD
Executive Vice President and CEO, American Medical
Association
RE: Discussion Paper on Evaluating
Effectiveness
After the first MCAC
Executive Committee meeting in December, I wrote to Nancy-Ann
DeParle to say that the American Medical Association (AMA) was
impressed and gratified by the commitment of the advisors and
the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to ensuring
that MCAC recommendations would be grounded in scientific
evidence of clinical effectiveness. I also said that the
meeting made it clear that she had fulfilled her promise to
create an open, timely, and accountable process for making
national coverage decisions.
The discussion paper that
the committee members prepared for today’s meeting certainly
underscores the observations we made in December. The
recommendations for evaluating evidence clearly state the key
issues to consider in assessing the state of the knowledge
regarding medical interventions proposed for Medicare
coverage. We are pleased that, in addition to recommending a
critical review of evidence from clinical trials, the
Executive Committee recommends that the “standard of
excellence” for the evidence report include work developed by
the national medical specialty societies. We also commend the
advisors for recommending that panel members take an active
role in framing the questions to be addressed by the evidence
report, participate in the report’s preparation, and seek
external review of the evidence reports.
Prior to the
MCAC’s formation, the AMA had expressed concern that Medicare
coverage decisions might be driven to a large degree by the
information presented by those with a vested interest in
coverage instead of by the available scientific and clinical
evidence. The discussion paper developed by the advisors has
allayed our concerns in this regard, and we encourage adoption
of its
recommendations.
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Last updated: Apr 12, 2001 | |
