DHPA applauds Dr. Andrew Gurman, president-elect of the American Medical Association for setting the record straight on the In-Office Ancillary Services Exemption in an op-ed published in the Hill’s Congress Blog today. The op-ed is one of the strongest statements the AMA has ever made in defense of the IOASE and its unique role in protecting access to cost-efficient health care furnished outside the hospital setting. In response to a previous piece that argued for the provision’s repeal, Dr. Gurman writes,
Contrary to the assertions conveyed in the earlier blog, growth in the use of these services is not causing the projected increase in Medicare Part B spending that is helping to produce the premium increases. In fact, any steps to decrease their use in physician offices will likely cause more services to be provided in higher-cost facility-based settings, which will cause Part B spending growth to rise even more rapidly.
He goes on to reference in detail AMA’s Milliman study which came out right at the same time as our complementary Milliman study that did an even deeper dive on anatomic pathology services. The AMA and DHPA efforts have been a powerful complement to one another, and we are glad to have such a great ally in the fight to protect the IOASE.