BIO Submits Comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Exchange and Insurance Market Standards for 2015 and Beyond; Proposed Rule (CMS-9949-P)
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April 10, 2014</p>
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<strong><em>BY ELECTRONIC DELIVERY</em></strong></p>
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Marilyn B. Tavenner</p>
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Administrator</p>
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services</p>
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</p>
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Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 445-G</p>
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200 Independence Avenue, SW</p>
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Washington, DC 20201</p>
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<strong>Re: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Exchange and Insurance Market Standards for 2015 and Beyond; Proposed Rule (CMS-9949-P)</strong></p>
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Dear Administrator Tavenner:</p>
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The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is pleased to submit the following comments on the proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 21, 2014, entitled “Exchange and Insurance Market Standards for 2015 and Beyond” (the “Proposed Rule”).<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a></p>
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BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO's members develop medical products and technologies to treat patients afflicted with serious diseases, to delay the onset of these diseases, or to prevent them in the first place. In that way, our members’ novel therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics not only have improved health outcomes, including productivity and quality of life, but also have reduced healthcare expenditures due to fewer physician office visits, hospitalizations, and surgical interventions.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="">[2]</a></p>
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<a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title="">[1]</a> 79 Fed. Reg. 15,808 (March 21, 2014).</p>
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<a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title="">[2]</a> <u>See, e.g.</u>, Congressional Budget Office, Offsetting Effects of Prescription Drug Use on Medicare’s Spending for Medical Services (Nov. 2012), available at: <a href="http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43741-Medica...
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April 10, 2014
BY ELECTRONIC DELIVERY
Marilyn B. Tavenner
Administrator
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 445-G
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Re: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Exchange and Insurance Market Standards for 2015 and Beyond; Proposed Rule (CMS-9949-P)
Dear Administrator Tavenner:
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is pleased to submit the following comments on the proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 21, 2014, entitled “Exchange and Insurance Market Standards for 2015 and Beyond” (the “Proposed Rule”).[1]
BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO's members develop medical products and technologies to treat patients afflicted with serious diseases, to delay the onset of these diseases, or to prevent them in the first place. In that way, our members’ novel therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics not only have improved health outcomes, including productivity and quality of life, but also have reduced healthcare expenditures due to fewer physician office visits, hospitalizations, and surgical interventions.[2]
[1] 79 Fed. Reg. 15,808 (March 21, 2014).
[2] See, e.g., Congressional Budget Office, Offsetting Effects of Prescription Drug Use on Medicare’s Spending for Medical Services (Nov. 2012), available at: http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43741-MedicalOffsets-11-29-12.pdf.