Dive Brief:
- AdvaMed on Tuesday laid out nine policy priorities it intends to press Congress to address this year. At the top of its list is a push for legislation to improve access to breakthrough medical technologies for Medicare beneficiaries by expediting the coverage determination process.
- The medtech industry trade group wants Congress to focus on expanding the reach of U.S. medical technologies in China and the European Union, noting “serious implementation issues” with new EU regulations.
- Also high on AdvaMed’s agenda are diagnostic testing reform and efforts to protect the medtech supply chain by maintaining stockpiles of semiconductors, plastics and medical grade packaging.
Dive Insight:
The medical device industry’s largest trade organization continues to put pressure on Congress to enact legislation it considers key to advancing innovation and improving patient care.
“Recent polls show health care is a top priority of both Democratic and Republican voters; they want to see their elected representatives work across the aisle to improve access to care and lower costs – two areas in which medtech can play an important role,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said in a statement on the group’s 2023 policy goals.
The group wants Congress to pass a law similar to the Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act introduced last year, and work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on its Transitional Coverage of Emerging Technologies proposed rule to establish a distinct alternative pathway to national Medicare coverage for emerging medical devices and diagnostics.
In overseas markets, AdvaMed seeks improved access for U.S. medical technologies in Japan, China and the European Union.
Securing the medtech supply chain would involve working with the Biden administration to ensure the federal government obtains needed inputs and prioritizes medical applications in semiconductor chip manufacturing and procurement incentives, AdvaMed said.
The group said Congress should pass the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development Act (VALID) Act to facilitate patient access to accurate diagnostic tests and work with laboratories on appropriate Medicare reimbursement rates for diagnostic tests.
“The flawed implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) created an unsustainable payment system, necessitating congressional action,” the organization said.
It also wants to see federal lawmakers re-authorize the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act.
