Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) on Monday would establish a program that awards grants to entrepreneurial labs pursuing the commercialization of new drugs and medical devices.
The Reducing Medicare Costs Through Innovation Act, introduced by Gardner and U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), would leverage innovation to reduce costs and strengthen Medicare programs.
“According to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare benefit payments reached $597 billion in 2014 and accounted for 14 percent of the federal budget,” Gardner said. “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.”
The bill would require the secretary of Health and Human Services and the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish an optional coordinated review pilot program that would assess grantees for FDA approval and national coverage determinations under Medicare at the same time.
“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,” Gardner said.
Coons said that finding ways to help small businesses grow is something that he is proud to champion.
“I am proud to join Sen. Gardner in introducing this bill to assist more small businesses in getting their innovate technology to the market, in turn reducing long-term costs to our Medicare program,” Coons said.