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Current Policy Priorities
Innovation Agenda
Advanced medical technologies are key to the hopes of patients and families for a better and healthier future. They are critical to lifting the heavy economic burden that diseases like diabetes,cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders place on our economy, the federal budget and family budgets—burdens that will only intensify as the Baby Boomer generation ages.
AdvaMed’s members are the companies, doctors, scientists and entrepreneurs who are the engine driving medical progress, and our goals for 2008 are aimed at creating the best possible environment for continued medical innovation and better health care for the American people.
To encourage Appropriate Regulation of the industry, AdvaMed will:
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Negotiate reauthorization of the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act (MDUFMA) to ensure that FDA continues to have the resources it needs to effectively and efficiently review new technologies, while maintaining a reasonable and equitable fee structure.
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Collaborate with the FDA to identify ways to refine postmarket monitoring and product performance communications
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Work with FDA in leading the Global Harmonization Task Force in promoting the harmonization of regulatory processes worldwide
To promote Adequate Payment of medical technology, AdvaMed will:
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Work to ensure reintroduction of legislation to improve reimbursement for clinical laboratory services and garner support for the bill from clinical laboratory associations
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Work to reverse imaging procedures that were mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
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Aggressively prepare for anticipated in CMS' FY 2009 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule
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Work closely with the Administration, Congress and other stakeholders to help shape value-based purchasing proposals such as pay-for-performance, gainsharing and physician "efficiency" standards to ensure that they encourage better quality care, support medical innovation and do not result in a "cheapest is best" approach to medical care
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Oppose Medicare cuts that could threaten patient access to quality medical care.
To ensure Growing International Markets for U.S. medical technology, AdvaMed will be engaged on several fronts:
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In Japan – Developing a more appropriate reimbursement mechanism to be negotiated for U.S. medical technology and facilitating regulatory approvals
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In Europe – Assuring that new hospital payment systems appropriately reimburse for ue of advanced medical technology
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In emerging markets – Expanding access to growing markets, especially China, by working with governments to build and improve regulatory and reimbursement mechanisms for medical technology
To Ensure Competitiveness of the U.S. medical technology industry, AdvaMed supports:
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Permanent extension of the R& D tax credit
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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants for smaller medical technology companies
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More federal resources devoted to basic research in the physical sciences
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Promoting math and science in our schools
To Promote Patient Access to affordable quality medical care and advanced medical technologies, AdvaMed will:
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Support efforts to expand health insurance coverage
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Support policies that control costs by lifting the economic burden of disease, because the best way to reduce health costs is to cure and prevent illness
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Resist blind cost-cutting that could retard medical progress, reduce the quality of care and increase long-term health care costs
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