In early January 2019, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma announced the appointment of Dr. Anand Shah, a radiation oncologist, to the role of Senior Medical Advisor for Innovation at CMS.
Dr. Shah has experience working at the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he helped to grow the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence big data initiative into a health technology incubator for strategic partnerships, research, and innovation.
Previously, Dr. Shah served as the chief medical officer at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) where he worked with the team on the clinical design of novel payment and service delivery models including those for primary care, specialty care and prescription drugs.
In his new role, he will lead efforts across the Agency to advance medical innovation reporting directly to CMS Administrator Verma.
The Chair of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Board of Directors, Paul Harari, MD, FASTRO, issued a statement in support of the appointment, saying,
“ASTRO congratulates radiation oncologist Dr. Anand Shah on being named Senior Medical Advisor for Innovation at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In this role, he will expand his already-extensive work in modernizing American health care, including efforts to improve patient access to high quality care through alternative payment models.
Dr. Shah is a steadfast champion for medical innovation with an impressive record of public service, including his most recent tenure as Chief Medical Officer for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). ASTRO offers our enthusiastic support to Dr. Shah, and we are eager to collaborate with him and the CMS team on initiatives that are critical to cancer patients and physicians, including the proposed alternative payment model for radiation oncology.”
Another organization, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), also praised the decision, with President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, saying,
“We are hopeful that Dr. Shah’s experience treating people with cancer will inform CMS policies to address the high cost of prescription drug treatments, without compromising patient access to all of the services needed to treat their cancer. ASCO recently submitted comments to CMS regarding the Administration’s proposal to revive and revise the Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) as part of an overall effort to address the high cost of prescription drugs in the United States.
“We applaud Administrator Verma for selecting Dr. Shah to serve as Senior Medical Advisor for Innovation and are looking forward to working with him in his new role to improve cancer care for Medicare and Medicaid patients.”