BAUCUS - CONRAD PROPOSAL CAN IMPROVE QUALITY OF HEALTH CAR

							For Immediate Release           Contact:         Dan Virkstis/Baucus (202) 224-4515
March 4, 2008                                    Chris Thorne/Conrad (202) 224-2043

   BAUCUS - CONRAD PROPOSAL CAN IMPROVE QUALITY OF
HEALTH CARE, LOWER COSTS THROUGHOUT AMERICAN SYSTEM
           Finance and Budget Committee Chairmen would create a national institute
                       to compare effectiveness of health care treatments

Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Budget
Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D- N. D.) today introduced legislation to improve the quality
of health care Americans receive, by gathering and distributing information about the
effectiveness of different health care treatments. The Comparative Effectiveness Research Act of
2008 will establish the Health Care Comparative Effectiveness Research Institute to gather and
produce data on how diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can be treated to achieve the
best clinical outcome for patients. The Congressional Budget Office has signaled that national
health care spending could be reduced if physicians and patients had more unbiased data on the
effectiveness of the treatments available to them.

“Reliable, unbiased information about the effectiveness of treatments will help doctors and
patients pinpoint and choose the care that will work best, and that's what this bill will help
to provide," said Baucus. “Better evidence about the effect of different health interventions
will not only improve the treatment of diseases, but will help Americans better manage and
prevent them. This knowledge will keep us all healthier, and can lower health care costs for
everyone. Changing our health care system for the better begins with this step.”

“Healthcare costs are expected to explode as more Baby Boomers retire. We have an
opportunity here to modernize how healthcare is provided, by figuring out what works and
what doesn’t. That should help lower healthcare costs, and get better healthcare outcomes
for all Americans,” Senator Conrad said. “Our goal with this bill is to give Americans and
their doctors accurate and objective information to help them make medical decisions.
Healthier people should mean lower health care costs.”

The Institute would work with experts and stakeholders to prioritize treatments for research –
including surgical procedures, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other measures. Research
would be conducted by trusted public and private organizations approved by the Institute’s
diverse board of directors, which would include doctors, patients, pharmaceutical and
biotechnology makers. Understandable information would be made available to clinicians,
patients and the public, so all Americans will have the information they need to avoid
unnecessary treatments and be well-informed health care consumers.

A summary of the “Comparative Effectiveness Research Act if 2008” follows here. A more
detailed section-by-section of the Finance Committee package is available online at
http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/legislation.htm.
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       “ THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH ACT OF 2008”
FINDING OUT WHAT WORKS IN HEALTH CARE - The Comparative Effectiveness Research Act
of 2008 establishes a private, nonprofit corporation to generate evidence on what works in health
care through comparative effectiveness research. Comparative effectiveness research compares
treatment outcomes, or the “clinical effectiveness”, of alternative therapies for the same
condition. Better evidence on what works will lead to better health care choices and thus
improved quality of care, improved efficiency, and ultimately to potential for cost savings. The
Institute will be responsible for setting a national agenda of research priorities based on the need
for better evidence, disease burden, practice variations, the potential for improved care and
health, and expenditures associated with a given health condition or care strategy. The Institute
will then contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and other
appropriate federal and private entities for conduct of the necessary research, including
systematic reviews, observational studies, clinical trials, and randomized controlled trials.
Findings from the research will then be peer-reviewed and publicly disseminated in ways that
patients, providers, and others can understand. The Institute will be governed by a multi-
stakeholder Board of Governors appointed by the Comptroller General and including the
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Directors of AHRQ and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).

MAKING SURE THE RESEARCH IS CREDIBLE - A crucial goal of the Institute will be to develop
the field of comparative effectiveness research. To accomplish this, the bill calls for the
establishment of an expert methodology committee to develop methodological standards to be
used in the conduct of comparative effectiveness research. To ensure adherence to the
methodological standards and to the principles of scientific integrity, all research will be subject
to a peer review process. Furthermore, the Institute’s placement outside of the government
ensures that undue political influence is kept to a minimum, while regular reviews by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) maintain accountability. The methodology committee
is also charged with examining potential methods for the inclusion of cost and health plan design
factors in comparative effectiveness studies. Cost and plan design factors will not be used by the
Institute now. In the future, however, once methods for their use are developed, these factors
might be included.

TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC INPUT - The Institute will consult with stakeholders broadly and
continually during its activities. The inclusion of stakeholders on the Board and among
consultants of the Institute, various public comment periods, and other forums for public input
will guarantee that research is relevant to the needs of patients, physicians, and other stakeholders
and will determine the most useful methods of dissemination and forms of information for those
making health care decisions. Expert advisory panels may also be created to help ensure that
research and its findings are relevant to decision makers at the point of service. Furthermore, the
Institute is encouraged to design research and information to address the potential differences
between patient subgroups and their responses to different health care strategies. Ultimately, the
Institute will only disseminate the results of research and will be prohibited from issuing practice
or policy recommendations or coverage guidelines.


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FUNDING - The Institute and its activities will be funded by both general revenues and
contributions from the Medicare Trust Funds, in proportion to the share of total national health
expenditures accounted for by private and Medicare Trust Fund spending, respectively. The
Secretary of HHS is directed to make payments annually to the Health Care Comparative
Effectiveness Trust Fund of the Institute. Total amounts will be ramped up over five years to an
annual amount on the order of $200 million.

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