Center for Medicare Advocacy Looks Forward to Working with New Head of CMS to Ensure Quality Care for All

The Center for Medicare Advocacy applauds the appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick as the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).   “During his career Dr. Berwick has demonstrated his commitment to ensuring high quality health care for all,” says Center senior policy attorney Vicki Gottlich.  “The Center is confident his leadership will help ensure the efficient implementation of the Affordable Care Act and looks forward to working with him to improve the quality of care for all Medicare beneficiaries.”

“We especially look forward to working with Dr. Berwick to eliminate the Medicare ‘Improvement Standard,'” Gottlich continues.  “This illegal standard is used to deny eligible Medicare beneficiaries the care they need to maintain their quality of life.” Unfortunately, the people most affected by this myth are those most in need of care, including people with Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, arthritis, heart disease, and stroke.  Further, the Improvement Standard disproportionately affects African-Americans, Hispanics, and low-income beneficiaries.