Government-Funded National Quality Forum Riddled With Conflicts of Interest
That’s the organization deputized by the federal government as the dominant voice in determining how Medicare providers are paid for quality. Regina Herzlinger finds that:
Its CEO, Dr. Christine Cassel, an internist, received sizeable annual sums from Kaiser, the giant health care provider, more than $1.5 million since 2003, and $135,000 in compensation and another $100,000 in stock from Premier, a health care supplier and consultant. All this came on top of the $561,000 salary and performance bonuses Dr. Cassel received for her 2014 NQF work.
In January, the Justice Department shockingly alleged that Dr. Charles Denham, who co-chaired the NQF’s Safe Practices Committee, received $11.6 million in payments from medical product company CareFusion to influence the kinds of products the NQF recommends hospitals buy. The Justice Department claimed the payment was inflated so Denham would influence a standard that affected sales of CareFusion’s ChloraPrep antiseptic skin wipes. Now U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is asking questions about how Denham made $725,000 in donations to the NQF as part of a five-year contract.
Let’s just bribe everybody!
In January, the Justice Department shockingly alleged that Dr. Charles Denham, who co-chaired the NQF’s Safe Practices Committee, received $11.6 million in payments from medical product company CareFusion to influence the kinds of products the NQF recommends hospitals buy.
Is this shocking? I’m not surprised.
Thank you for your comments. When a doctor in private practice gets honoraria from a pharmaceutical or medical-device company, the government considers this a problem.
SO, the passed the Sunshine Act, which requires full disclosure of such payments. We need much more sunshine on the conflicts of interest in these quasi-governmental organization.