FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andrew Rosenberg, (202) 247-6301, [email protected]
Today, CMS released “Details on Final Rule Changes Related to Continuing Education Events” regarding the Final Rule that was promulgated in the Federal Register as part of the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule publication. The new rule is intended to take effect in 2016.
“The CME Coalition is in the process of digesting this new guidance, but at first read, it appears to us that some of it is inconsistent with the final regulations and CMS’s own statements in the Final Rule,” stated CME Coalition Senior Advisor Andrew Rosenberg. “We believe this creates the need for further clarification, which we will be seeking on behalf of our members.”
The Final Rules states that “if an applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO provides funding to support a continuing education event but does not require, instruct, direct, or otherwise cause the continuing education event provider to provide the payment or other transfer or value in whole or in part to a covered recipient, the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO is not required to report the payment or other transfer of value.
The payment is not reportable regardless if the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO learns the identity of the covered recipient during the reporting year or by the end of the second quarter of the following reporting year because the payment or other transfer of value did not meet the definition of an indirect payment.” (Federal Register at 67760)
The new guidance also appears to directly contradict the Final Rule’s protection of the identities of CME physician attendees from reporting, which clearly stated: “We did not intend to remove the exclusion regarding subsidized fees provided to physician attendees by manufacturers at continuing education events.” (Federal Register at 67760)
This sub-regulatory guidance was not subject to notice or comment.
Rosenberg continued, “There is nothing in the CMS guidance that undermines the notion that an unrestricted CME grant is still just that -- unrestricted. Thus, under the Final Rule, if a CME provider has full discretion over physician faculty, speakers, and attendees, this still does not meet the definition of indirect payment and, as such, is not reportable.”
About the CME Coalition
The CME Coalition’s 30+ member organizations represent a broad collection of continuing medical education provider companies, in addition to other supporters of CME and the vital role it plays in the US health care system. Its member organizations provide, manage and support the development of healthcare continuing education programs that impact more than 500,000 physicians, nurses and pharmacists annually. Graduation from medical school and completion of residency training are the first steps in a career-long educational process for physicians. To take advantage of the growing array of diagnostic and treatment options, physicians must continually update their technical knowledge and practice skills. CME is a mainstay for such learning.
Contact: Andrew Rosenberg, (202) 247-6301, [email protected]
Today, CMS released “Details on Final Rule Changes Related to Continuing Education Events” regarding the Final Rule that was promulgated in the Federal Register as part of the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule publication. The new rule is intended to take effect in 2016.
“The CME Coalition is in the process of digesting this new guidance, but at first read, it appears to us that some of it is inconsistent with the final regulations and CMS’s own statements in the Final Rule,” stated CME Coalition Senior Advisor Andrew Rosenberg. “We believe this creates the need for further clarification, which we will be seeking on behalf of our members.”
The Final Rules states that “if an applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO provides funding to support a continuing education event but does not require, instruct, direct, or otherwise cause the continuing education event provider to provide the payment or other transfer or value in whole or in part to a covered recipient, the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO is not required to report the payment or other transfer of value.
The payment is not reportable regardless if the applicable manufacturer or applicable GPO learns the identity of the covered recipient during the reporting year or by the end of the second quarter of the following reporting year because the payment or other transfer of value did not meet the definition of an indirect payment.” (Federal Register at 67760)
The new guidance also appears to directly contradict the Final Rule’s protection of the identities of CME physician attendees from reporting, which clearly stated: “We did not intend to remove the exclusion regarding subsidized fees provided to physician attendees by manufacturers at continuing education events.” (Federal Register at 67760)
This sub-regulatory guidance was not subject to notice or comment.
Rosenberg continued, “There is nothing in the CMS guidance that undermines the notion that an unrestricted CME grant is still just that -- unrestricted. Thus, under the Final Rule, if a CME provider has full discretion over physician faculty, speakers, and attendees, this still does not meet the definition of indirect payment and, as such, is not reportable.”
About the CME Coalition
The CME Coalition’s 30+ member organizations represent a broad collection of continuing medical education provider companies, in addition to other supporters of CME and the vital role it plays in the US health care system. Its member organizations provide, manage and support the development of healthcare continuing education programs that impact more than 500,000 physicians, nurses and pharmacists annually. Graduation from medical school and completion of residency training are the first steps in a career-long educational process for physicians. To take advantage of the growing array of diagnostic and treatment options, physicians must continually update their technical knowledge and practice skills. CME is a mainstay for such learning.
