339 Groups Urge Congress to Halt International Pricing Index Model

Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians Coalition-organized letter highlights model’s threats to
patient choice and American healthcare innovation.

Washington, DC, December 18, 2018 --(PR.com)-- The Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians
Coalition (ASP Coalition), along with 339 patient, provider and caregiver groups, submitted a letter to
congressional leaders urging them to block the implementation of the International Pricing Index (IPI)
model that was recently unveiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) because of the
adverse impact it is likely to have on millions of seniors and persons with disabilities who rely on
Medicare Part B for essential treatments.

The letter urges Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,
House Speaker Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to work together to create
alternative policies that would benefit patients, providers, and American innovation.

Though the groups laud CMS' goals of strengthening competition and enhancing value in Medicare Part
B and support the testing of patient-centered, voluntary, small-scale reforms, they believe the IPI proposal
would introduce harmful barriers, burdens, and inefficiencies into the American healthcare system. The
groups strongly oppose the mandatory participation of Part B providers in the model that will
fundamentally change now treatment is delivered to seniors.

“Compounding these concerns, the model also interjects new middlemen between physicians and patients
- vendors that would impose requirements dictating treatment for patients with cancer, autoimmune
disorders and other complex, life-threatening conditions,” the letter continues. “The model would restrict
access in the short-term, and reduce incentives for medical advancement in the long-term, ultimately
posing serious risks to vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries.”

According to the groups, price control schemes such as international referencing hinder the research and
development of new breakthrough medicines, while depriving patients and healthcare professionals of the
ability to make key decisions about their care.

“Instead of encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to work closely with their physicians to select treatments
based on evidence and best practices, the model would import foreign-based price controls, regardless of
value or innovation,” the letter reads. “Our greatest concern is that this model would impose decisions
made in countries such as Greece or Japan on approximately half of all independent physicians and
hospital providers, as well as their patients.”

To view the full letter, Click here.

About the Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians (ASP) Coalition
The Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians (ASP) Coalition is opposed to harmful changes to the
program that would exacerbate health care consolidation, increase access restrictions, decrease choice of

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therapy, and stifle future innovation for physician-administered treatments. To learn more,
partbaccess.org.

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Contact Information:
Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians Coalition
Ellen Almond
(703) 548-1163
Contact via Email
http://www.partbaccess.org/

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/772087

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