175. Health Care Costs

175.995 Unleashing Market Transparency to Address Soaring Drug Prices

 

CMS supports transparency to allow market forces to better control prescription drug prices:

• CMS advocates that pharmaceutical advertisers disclose pricing information; whether they market to physicians or directly to patients, ads must embed average or comparative price data.
• CMS supports efforts to ban direct-to-consumer advertisements in Colorado, such as TV commercials.
• CMS advocates for publishing and updating Medicare’s and Medicaid’s so-called drug-pricing dashboards, or similar public price lists updated in near real time and accessible via public website (and/or API feed available to EHRs).
• CMS advocates disclosure of all fees and rebates paid to intermediaries or so-called middlemen in the drug supply chain.
• CMS advocates that policymakers study the use of drug rebates and other intermediary fees and how they affect prices for patients and access to care.

(Motion of the Board, Sept. 14, 2018)

175.996 Choosing Wisely

 

CMS endorses the Choosing Wisely campaign as it helps address the cost containment issue and encourages more shared decision-making with patients.
(BOD-1, AM 2012; Reaffirmed, BOD-1, AM 2014)

175.997 Patient Tax Deduction for Health Care Expenses

 

The Colorado Medical Society supports making basic health care related costs for individuals, such as health insurance premiums, co-pays, deductibles and prescription costs, completely tax deductible.
(RES-17, AM 2001; Reaffirmed, BOD-1, AM 2014)

175.998 Profiteering by Third Party Payers in Health Care

 

The Colorado Medical Society supports uniform public disclosure by insurance companies and managed care organizations of specific income and expense categories, so that the amounts actually spent on health care service for subscribers relative to premium are able to be compared.
(RES-34, AM 1994; Reaffirmed, BOD-1, AM 2014)

175.999 Cost Containment Programs and Intrusions from Third Party Payers

 

The Colorado Medical Society (CMS) encourages physicians to continue to demonstrate a real measure of cost effectiveness by continuing to provide patients with honest, conscientious, up-to-date, scientific, and compassionate medical and surgical care. The CMS encourages physicians to look beyond the intrusions of third party carriers and case managers and continue to provide the type of care that is based on valid and proven medical principles.
(RES-5, IM 1989; Reaffirmed, BOD-1, AM 2014)