ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Johnson Announces Hearing on
Promoting Disease Management in Medicare

 Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on promoting disease management in the Medicare program.  The hearing will take place on Tuesday, April 9, 2002, B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 3:00 p.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  Witnesses will include academics, practitioners, and health plans with expertise in disease management.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Approximately 12 percent of all Medicare enrollees accounted for three-quarters of all Medicare fee-for-service program costs.   Many of these beneficiaries have chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and congestive heart failure that require repeated and costly hospitalizations.  Medicare’s costs could be curtailed if the program is designed to better manage health care for these beneficiaries.

Disease management programs assist both the physician and patient with a plan of care that helps evaluate and prevent complications and improve outcomes through evidence-based practice guidelines and patient empowerment strategies.  Typically this is used to improve health outcomes and reduce the costs of chronic diseases. 

Some fee-for-service providers have incorporated disease management programs, but only to a limited extent.  But in general, health care for those in Medicare fee-for-service with chronic illnesses has been poorly coordinated across sites of care and is often fragmented, although many providers have expressed greater interest in using management techniques to improve care.

Conversely, Medicare+Choice plans widely use disease management programs and have found preventative care and case management may ultimately save money by avoiding costly hospital stays.  According to the 2000 Survey of Disease Management Practices, "virtually all" plans have at least one disease management program.  The average plan has four disease management programs in place, and 95 percent of plans have a diabetes disease management program. Finally, at least 75 percent of plans have asthma and congestive heart failure disease management programs and almost 50 percent of plans have a disease management plan for coronary artery disease.

On February 22, 2002, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a request for proposals to conduct demonstration disease management programs in the fee-for-service program as required by the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act.  The demonstration programs are for congestive heart failure, diabetes, or coronary heart disease.  The proposal recognizes the value of expanding disease management to additional beneficiaries.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated, “As Congress modernizes and strengthens Medicare, we must recognize the significant role disease management can play in improving seniors’ lives.  Unfortunately, this is yet another area in which Medicare significantly lags behind the private market.  By encouraging widespread incorporation of disease management programs in Medicare, we will help improve patient outcomes while reducing health costs.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

  Tuesday’s hearing will focus on promoting disease management programs in traditional and managed Medicare. 

 DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, by the close of business, Tuesday, April 23, 2002.  Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Health in room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing.  The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.