Medicare and Medical Technology — The Growing Demand for Relevant Outcomes

Abstract

In deciding whether to pay for new medical technologies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is becoming more specific about its requirements for evidence of improved health outcomes in the Medicare population. In our view, this is a positive and overdue step, but one whose rationale and likely consequences must be better understood by the medical community, policymakers, and the public. Expansions of access to health insurance under the health care reform legislation pending in Congress — and resulting financial pressures — would almost certainly intensify the emphasis on more relevant and robust evidence.