Grassley, Wyden Comment on CMS Transparency Announcement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are long-time advocates for transparency in medicine and co-authors of the Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act (Medicare DATA Act). They made the following comments on the announcement today from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that it will “provide the public unprecedented access to information about the number and type of health care services that individual physicians and certain other health care professionals delivered in 2012 and the amount Medicare paid them for those services, on or after April 9.”

“Transparency draws in the public and invites analysis of policy and spending,” Grassley said. “More transparency has made a difference in accountability in the tax-exempt sector, and it does the same wherever it’s applied in health care. The public’s business ought to be public.  I’m looking forward to the positive effects on accountability and spending from the new transparency in Medicare. It also appears CMS is taking the right steps to protect beneficiary information and just releasing data.” 

“Transparency is key to improving care for patients and creating greater efficiencies in health care,” Wyden said. “Today’s announcement is a huge step forward for Medicare enrollees, who should be able to compare doctors, hospitals and clinics on the basis of quality and price.”

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