Two Colorado Senators introduce bill to protect Medicare

Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced a bill which aims to strengthen and protect the Medicare program by spurring innovation to reduce costs.

The Reducing Medicare Costs through Innovation Act would establish a program to award grants to small labs pursuing commercialization for new drugs or medical devices that could potentially reduce costs to the program while maintaining and improving the quality of care. It would also require the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish a pilot program that simultaneously assesses grantees for FDA approval and a national coverage determination under the Medicare program.

“According to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare benefit payments reached $597 billion in 2014 and accounted for 14 percent of the federal budget. In order to address the sustainability of the Medicare program, it’s important that we do everything we can to encourage innovation and bring down the cost of care,” said Gardner. “The Reducing Medicare Costs through Innovation Act is a commonsense bill that has the potential to not only save the Medicare program money, but it could also lead to higher quality care and improved patient outcomes.”