(Reuters) -The U.S. health department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will form an expert advisory panel to make recommendations for improving how care is financed and delivered across insurance plans, the agencies said on Thursday. The panel of experts would make recommendations directly to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. […]
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HHS, CMS form advisory committee to improve patient care, call for nominations
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(Reuters) -The U.S. health department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will form an expert advisory panel to make recommendations for improving how care is financed and delivered across insurance plans, the agencies said on Thursday.
The panel of experts would make recommendations directly to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and CMS chief Dr. Mehmet Oz.
“This committee will help us cut waste, reduce paperwork, expand preventive care and modernize CMS programs with real-time data and accountability, all while keeping patients at the center,” Oz said.
The advisory panel will prioritize creating policy initiatives aimed at preventing and managing chronic diseases and develop frameworks that reduce unnecessary red tape and allow providers to focus on improving patient health, the federal agencies said.
The committee will also focus on a real-time data system, which would help in rapid processing of claims, improve quality in government-backed Medicaid programs for low-income individuals and identify ways to modernize risk adjustment in the Medicare Advantage program for older adults.
CMS is accepting nominations and the members would be selected later this year, the agencies said.
Experts in chronic disease prevention, federal healthcare financing and delivery reform are encouraged to apply, they said. Individuals may nominate themselves or be nominated by an organization.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)