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Auxilary Aids & Services

For information about the availability of beneficiary auxiliary aids and services, please call our Beneficiary Contact Center at 800-833-4455.

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Railroad Medicare Beneficiaries
Let the Sunshine In

In 1967, the group The 5th Dimension released a song called ‘Let the Sunshine In’ (also known as ‘The Age of Aquarius’).  It’s a song that, once someone starts singing it, leaves you hearing it in your head for hours. 

Now fast-forward to 2013, and the words of this song point to something very different: the ‘National Physician Payment Transparency Program: Open Payments’ – an initiative from Section 6002 of the Affordable Care Act. This program is intended to increase public awareness and knowledge of the financial relationships between physicians/teaching hospitals and the manufacturers of drugs, biologicals, medical supplies, devices, and ‘Group Purchasing Organizations’, or GPOs. A GPO is a group of businesses that earn discounts from vendors based on their collective buying power.

Starting August 1, 2013, manufacturers and GPOs will begin reporting payments or ‘transfers of value’ made to physicians or teaching hospitals. ‘Transfers of value’ can refer to consulting fees, gifts, entertainment, travel/lodging, etc. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) will collect the data annually and publish it on its website at
www.cms.gov.

CMS’s statement about this program lists the purpose of this effort as:

  • Promoting transparent information regarding financial relationships
  • Disclosing the nature and extent of financial relationships between the industry and the physicians and teaching hospitals
  • Discouraging inappropriate influences on research, education, and clinical decision-making
  • Curtailing potential conflicts of interest that can compromise clinical integrity and patient care

It’s important to note that financial payments or transfers of value do not necessarily mean a violation of law or an implication of fraud or abuse. The purpose of the act is to open the door, let the sun shine in, and give the public a clear view of the relationships between these entities.

The first report will contain the data from August through December 2013 and will be posted to the CMS website by September 30, 2014. Physicians and teaching hospitals enrolled with Medicare have been notified by CMS through various media channels.

If you have questions about this initiative, or about your Railroad Medicare benefits, please call our Beneficiary Contact Center at 800-833-4455, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. We also encourage you to sign up for email updates. To do so, visit our website and click ‘Email Updates’ on the lower left-hand side of the Web page under ‘Stay Connected.’

 

last updated on 04/14/2014
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