What We Do
As much as ever, the need for an organization to represent and promote the interests of CME among the nation’s policymakers is crucial. And while there are new opportunities to explain the importance of continuing medical education to our healthcare system to the new Administration and Congress, skeptics of commercially supported CME remain active. At both the federal and state levels, efforts continue to proscribe the traditional role of private industry in funding the ongoing education of medical professionals. At the core, most criticism of private sector support for CME has erroneously presumed that such funding constitutes an inherent conflict of interest and inappropriately influences the decisions of healthcare providers. So we must remain vigilant and continue to champion CME, promote its responsible use, and create opportunities to enhance policy maker support for CME.
We have identified the following priority issues to champion the provision of independent CME activities:
We have identified the following priority issues to champion the provision of independent CME activities:
- Cementing the Policy Outlined in FAQ 8165 by Driving a CMS Rulemaking: In order to promote greater certainty around the Open Payment reporting rules, the Coalition will pursue a formal rulemaking through the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt, and supersede, the current FAQ’s stated policy to exclude most independent CME support payments. A formal rulemaking, unlike an FAQ, requires an extensive public vetting and commenting process. As such, a determination cannot be easily undone without going through a similar process. As a practical matter, it would bring even greater clarity and certainty to the Open Payment rules, and would help to eliminate any doubts as to the law’s (Physician Payment Sunshine Act) actual requirements. We believe that the current Administration is likely to look favorably upon this request, and we intend to pursue it vigorously.
- Exempting Medical Textbooks and Medical Journal Reprints from Open Payments Reporting: The CME Coalition was a leading force behind bipartisan legislation introduced during the last Congress (in both the House and the Senate) that would have exempted the provision of medical textbooks and peer-reviewed medical journal reprints from Open Payments reporting. We were successful in having this legislation included as part of the House-passed 21st Century Cures Act, but it was removed in conference with the Senate before being presented to the President. We believe that 2017 presents a ripe opportunity to revisit this issue, through both legislative and regulatory means, in order to encourage – rather than penalize – the sharing of medical science findings with healthcare providers as part of their continuing medical education.
- Educating the Larger CME Community on the Current CMS Open Payment Guidance: Confusion within the larger CME community around the rules for reporting remains. While we have worked to educate all parties about the rules for reporting, and specifically about FAQ 8165, some companies are still not interpreting the rules in accordance with the current guidance. Through individualized outreach when necessary, we will continue to advocate for an industry consensus recognition and interpretation of the Open Payment guidance.
- Continuing the Campaign to Include CME in MIPS/MACRA: Although seemingly arcane and only tangentially related to CME, the development of the MIPS/MACRA system for physician reimbursement under Medicare presents an unprecedented growth opportunity for CME. If CMS explicitly designs a role for CME to play by recognizing relevant activities as “clinical practice improvement activities” within MIPS, it will create an entirely new incentive for physicians to utilize CME and allow CME to play an integral role in physician practice for decades to come. In 2017, the CME Coalition will continue to serve as the lead convener of a broad range of CME stakeholders that will drive an effort to work with CMS to develop and define a role for CME in MIPS. This campaign will necessitate the development of champions on Capitol Hill and within the Trump Administration, as well as a public information campaign to drive broad awareness of the implications and opportunities provided by MIPS.
