The chairman and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee have written to CMS administrator Seema Verma to ask her to address the lack of transparency in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

In the bipartisan letter, committee chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and ranking member Kevin Brady (R-TX) note that “…Congress established CMMI to test different innovative delivery system and payment models to improve quality and reduce costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries” but observe that “…significant policy changes made unilaterally by the executive branch without sufficient transparency could yield unintended negative consequences for beneficiaries and the health care community.

Their request:

We strongly urge the Agency to provide more sunshine in this process, all allow Congress, beneficiaries, and stakeholders greater opportunity to provide feedback into the policies that CMMI tests that affect millions of Americans with Medicare.

The letter also poses a series of questions about CMMI’s current endeavors.

Learn more from the letter from Representatives Neal and Brady to CMS administrator Seema Verma.