Empowering Medicare Patient Choices Act

Bill: 111-s-1133
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2009-05-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Department of Health and Human Services
Government trust funds
Health care quality
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Medicare
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: 
Empowering Medicare Patient Choices Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) have a contract with an entity to establish standards to certify patient decision aides and to conduct its business in an open and transparent manner and provide the opportunity for public comment on its activities; and (2) establish an expert panel to make recommendations to the Secretary regarding which patient decision aids should be implemented, appropriate training for health care providers on patient decision aids and shared decision making, and appropriate quality measures for use in the pilot program established below. 
 
Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act (Medicare) to require the Secretary's contract with a consensus-based entity to ensure that priority is given in making recommendations to measures that address certain medical conditions and regional practice variations under Medicare.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to provide for the phased-in development, implementation, and evaluation of shared decision making under the Medicare program using patient decision aids to meet the objective of improving the understanding by Medicare beneficiaries of their medical treatment options, as compared to comparable Medicare beneficiaries who do not participate in a shared decision making process using patient decision aids. 
 
Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance for the establishment and support of Shared Decision Making Resource Centers to provide technical assistance to eligible providers and to develop and disseminate best practices and other information to support adoption, implementation, and effective use of patient decision aids and shared decision making by eligible providers under the Medicare program. 
 
Specifies the medical conditions for the patient decision aids approved under this Act.
 
Directs that any savings resulting from implementation of the pilot project be: (1) used to provide bonus payments to eligible providers participating in the pilot program who achieve high quality shared decision making; (2) placed in a Shared Decision Making Trust Fund; and (3) retained by the Medicare program.
 
Amends SSA title XVIII to require the Secretary to promulgate regulations that: (1) specify for which preference-sensitive conditions beneficiaries should participate in shared decision making; (2) require providers of services and suppliers to make sure that beneficiaries receive patient decision aids as appropriate; and (3) specify a process for beneficiaries to elect not to use such patient decision aids.
 
Prescribes a penalty for not using shared decision making. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5836-5840)
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5836)
action_date: 2009-05-21
text: Introduced in Senate