CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, responded to Republican senators’ criticism of The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in a recent interview with The Washington Post.
Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week requesting information about numerous CMMI programs. They wanted to know how much time HHS has spent on those initiatives, such as bundled payments and accountable care organizations, and whether they have yet produced cost savings.
In an interview, The Washington Post asked Dr. Berwick how he would respond to questions over CMMI’s worth. He responded with the following:
“I’m seeing a new level of national readiness and enthusiasm. Here we are, barely 11 months in, and we have major programs on the street. We’re engaging thousands of hospitals, employers and other stakeholders in the Partnership for Patients, the largest and most coordinated effort to reduce medical errors that this country has ever seen. We’ve launched the Pioneer ACOs, a bundled payments demonstration. We are working with states on dual-eligibles. That’s a tremendous amount. The public healthcare delivery system knows this, and that enthusiasm should be of reassurance to the Senators asking those tough questions.”
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