While the main focus of Medicare has historically been to provide affordable and accessible medications to seniors, its focus has recently changed. Early this January, The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that would bring significant changes to the federal agencies.
The most notable change offered by the proposal is the agency’s new authority to kick out physicians and other providers who engage in abusive prescribing. It could also take such action if providers’ licenses have been suspended or revoked by state regulators or if they were restricted from prescribing painkillers and other controlled substances.
Additionally, the agency will tighten a loophole that has allowed doctors to prescribe to patients in the drug program (known as Part D) even when they were not officially enrolled with Medicare. Under the new rules, doctors and other providers must formally enroll if they want to write prescriptions to the 36 million people in Part D. This requires them to verify their credentials and disclose professional discipline and criminal history. Continue reading “Medicare Wants the Power to Ban Certain Doctors”
