WASHINGTON, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Christobel Selecky, President- Elect of the Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) appeared before the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee during their hearing on ‘The New Chronic Care Improvement Program (CCIP) within Medicare.’ During her testimony, Ms. Selecky commented on the opportunities stemming from Section 721 of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), as well as some of DMAA’s recommendations going forward.
“Prior to last year’s legislation, recommended solutions were piecemeal and incremental, and measuring their impact on cost containment and quality improvement was difficult, if not impossible,” noted Selecky. “Fortunately, the Medicare Modernization Act has created a framework for transforming chronic care in America.”
Continuing, she added, “There are many models possible under MMA, and based on the initial response, these consortia will definitely include the broad spectrum of healthcare -- ranging from primary care physicians, home health agencies, community-based health organizations, health insurance carriers, disease management organizations, and even health care technology companies.”
In conclusion, Selecky noted six “next steps” for Congress and the Administration to help ensure the success of this effort, including:
* supporting CMS with sufficient resources to administer and monitor this program; * requiring a set of quality standards or accreditation as a threshold for contracting; * ensuring that models selected have proven outcomes and are scalable; * implementing all of the pilot programs as soon as possible; * expanding the program as soon as cost savings and quality improvements are realized; and * including disease management among prospective Medicaid reforms.
DMAA is a nonprofit, voluntary membership organization that represents all stakeholders of the disease management community.
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CONTACT: Warren E. Todd, Executive Director of the Disease ManagementAssociation of America, +1-202-861-1491
Web site: http://www.dmaa.net/
