Orthopedic Industry Could be in GOP Lawmaker’s Crosshairs One top Republican in the U.S. Ho

Orthopedic Industry Could be in GOP Lawmaker’s Crosshairs

One top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is targeting the orthopedic industry. For people who think the medical device industry might get a better deal from a Republican Congress, this could make them think again. Rep. Darrell Issa of California is the newly appointed chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Committee. In early December, he told The Wall Street Journal that he wants to cut Medicare spending on orthopedic devices that doctors overuse.

According to Issa, his own doctor informed him that surgeons have an incentive under Medicare to implant many joint and bone screws to support patients’ spines, when fewer implants, or perhaps none at all, might be equally effective and safer.

“They have got to come up with a system that doesn’t reward people for putting more metal in somebody’s spine,” Issa told the WSJ. “My committee can help by looking at whether the government is answering and informing about the lowest-cost, least-invasive procedures.”

Issa said it might be time for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to consider cost-effectiveness in coverage decisions for medical devices, as long as the decisions are made by physicians rather than government “bureaucrats.” In the past, Republicans have been opposed to government panels making cost-effectiveness decisions, but Issa seemed to be okay with medical panels made up of “people who care about what’s best for their patients.”