(Washington, DC) – Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr. M.D. (R-South Louisiana) released the following statement after recently introducing H.R. 6176, the Aligning Incentives for Better Patient Care Act:

“As a retired heart surgeon, I know we can reduce Medicare costs by removing legal barriers preventing hospitals from delivering better care to seniors. Under current law, it’s a criminal offence for a hospital to reward physicians for helping with important quality improvement programs, including those designed to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions or the rate of avoidable re-operations. This unintended rule creates waste and prevents patients from receiving the best possible care.”

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The Aligning Incentives for Better Patient Care Act, H.R. 6176, would create narrow legal exceptions under federal law to allow doctors and hospitals to work together using recommendations made byphysician specialty societies and other nationally-recognized groups developing health quality measures. The bill protects patients’ access to new and better treatments and ensures that personal medical decisions remain in the hands of doctors and patients. Taxpayers also benefit: H.R. 6176 requires participating hospitals to return part of their savings to the Medicare trust fund.