The Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule, “Medicare Program; Specialty Care Models to Improve Quality of Care and Reduce Expenditures.” Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Each year, Medicare Rights provides services and resources to over three million people with Medicare, family caregivers, and professionals.
General Comments
We are supportive of efforts to reduce Medicare program spending while improving quality of care, and quality of life, for Medicare beneficiaries. We also agree that mandatory models are in some cases needed in order to truly test whether a payment system is feasible and appropriate. As such, we are generally supportive of the two proposed mandatory models: (1) the Radiation Oncology (RO) Model and (2) the ESRD Treatment Choices (ETC) Model.
