Lawmaker wants CBO to review legislation on doc-pay, IPAB

Lawmaker wants CBO to review legislation on doc-pay, IPAB-modernhealthcare.com:

Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) requested an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (PDF) of any legislative patch to prevent a looming 27% cut in Medicare physician payment rates scheduled to occur in January. Specifically, Roe wanted Congress' nonpartisan accountants to determine if freezing current rates would add to cuts that the Independent Payment Advisory Board is required to begin making in 2015.

Poll: No advantage on Medicare, health care

Poll: No advantage on Medicare, health care-politico.com:


Despite a furious onslaught of negative ads and harsh rhetoric, neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney has much of an advantage on critical issues heading into the fall campaign.

NYT: Polls Say Medicare Is Key Issue in 3 Swing States

NYT: Polls Say Medicare Is Key Issue in 3 Swing States: - The Romney-Ryan proposal to reshape Medicare by giving future beneficiaries fixed amounts of money to buy health coverage is deeply unpopular in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to new polls that found that more likely voters in each state trust President Obama to handle Medicare.

Medicare requests nominations for medical evidence advisory board

Medicare requests nominations for medical evidence advisory board-massdevice.com:


The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid request nominations for the 42 open seats on the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee.

In Florida, Mitt Romney finds no split on Paul Ryan budget

In Florida, Mitt Romney finds no split on Paul Ryan budget-politico.com

In the heart of a must-win state heavily populated with senior citizens, Mitt Romney couldn’t distinguish between his own plan to reform the budget and the one advanced by his running mate.

New heart valves have a steep learning curve

New heart valves have a steep learning curve-massdevice.com:

More than 15% of patients treated with first-generation versions of transcatheter aortic heart valves have majopr vascular complications from the procedure, according to a new analysis of data from Edwards Lifesciences' Partner trial.

Paul Ryan plan unpopular, polls show

Paul Ryan plan unpopular, polls show-politico.com:
Last spring when Ryan unveiled his budget proposal, which proposed changing Medicare to a private program with government subsidies, pollsters jumped to see what Americans thought

FDA proposes new 510(k) pre-review to cut out incomplete applications

FDA proposes new 510(k) pre-review to cut out incomplete applications-massdevice.com:
The FDA revises its 510(k) application policy and issues a new basic administrative checklist to pre-assess submissions for a certain level of completeness before passing them on for agency review.

Special interests win in Senate panel’s attempt at tax reform

Special interests win in Senate panel’s attempt at tax reform-washingtonpost.com:


It was supposed to be a first step toward tax reform. But as lawmakers tackled a list of 75 special-interest tax breaks, the special interests repeatedly won.