GAO Makes PTAC Appointments
WASHINGTON, DC (October 15, 2019) – Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of a new member to the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC). He also reappointed two current members.
“PTAC’s assessments of innovative physician payment models play an important role in Medicare’s ongoing transition to value-based care. I want to thank the highly-qualified group of individuals who applied this year, and I am very pleased to make this new appointment,” Dodaro said.
The newly appointed member is Charles DeShazer, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Highmark Health Plan, located in Pittsburgh, PA.
The reappointed members, whose terms will also expire in October 2022, are Paul N. Casale, MD, MPH, interventional cardiologist and Executive Director, NewYork Quality Care, and Bruce Steinwald, MBA, private consultant.
Congress established PTAC in 2015 to provide comments and recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on physician payment models. The Comptroller General is responsible for appointing members to the committee.
Commissioners whose terms will expire in October 2020 are Rhonda M. Medows, MD, President of Population Health Management at Providence St. Joseph Health and CEO of Ayin Health Solutions; Harold D. Miller, President and CEO, Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform; Len M. Nichols, PhD, Director, Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics, George Mason University; and Grace Terrell, MD, MMM, doctor of internal medicine and CEO, Envision Genomics.
Commissioners whose terms will expire in October 2021 are Jeffrey Bailet, MD (Chair), otolaryngologist and President and Chief Executive Officer of Altais; Kavita Patel, MD, MSHS, Vice President of Payer and Provider Integration at Johns Hopkins Health System; Angelo Sinopoli, MD, Chief Clinical Officer at Prisma Health; and Jennifer Wiler, MD, MBA, Executive Vice Chair and Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
For more information about PTAC, contact Stella Mandl, PTAC Staff Director, at (202) 205-6576 or email PTAC@hhs.gov. Other calls should be directed to Chuck Young in GAO’s Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800. The official announcement will be published in the Federal Register. A brief biography of the new commission member follows:
Charles DeShazer, MD, is the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Highmark Health Plan, a non-profit healthcare company and integrated delivery network, where he oversees utilization management, physician support for value-based reimbursement, and medical policy strategy, among other responsibilities. He has more than 20 years of experience in medical informatics, including electronic health record optimization and the use of information technology to support clinical care and managed care administration and analytics. Dr. DeShazer is a member of the CommonSpirit board quality subcommittee and the Access Community Health Network board as well as their quality subcommittee. He received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at University of Illinois Hospital.
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