Modern Healthcare

By: Virgil Dickson

Congress advisors on Medicaid policies adopted an extensive new conflict-of-interest policy.

On May, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, known as MACPAC, voted in favor of adopting a policy to disclose financial interests,a series of banned activities for the members of the panel, and a process for members to disqualify themselves from voting when they may a conflict of interest.

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“The highly politicized nature of Medicaid policy makes me cautious about relatively broad prohibitions,” said Joan Alker, a Medicaid policy expert at Georgetown University. “It’s important to ensure that qualified experts are not prevented from serving on MACPAC”.

Even though Congress adopts advice on Medicare spending provided by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, known as MedPAC, it has accepted half of the 13 recommendations provided by MACPAC since it began in 2009.

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