Billions and Billions

The Innovation Center under CMS has gotten a bit of light shown upon it. Like PCORI and the dozens of other multi-billion dollar boondoggles spawn by the ACA this gem also got a negative write up by the NY Times.

The Times bemoans:

But now that the center has gotten started, many researchers and economists are disturbed that it is not using randomized clinical trials, the rigorous method that is widely considered the gold standard in medical and social science research. Such trials have long been required to prove the efficacy of medicines, and similarly designed studies have guided efforts to reform welfare-to-work, education and criminal justice programs. But they have rarely been used to guide health care policy — and experts say the center is now squandering a crucial opportunity to develop the evidence needed to retool the nation’s troubled health care system in a period of rapid and fundamental change.

If one were to examine their web site one would see a real unorganized collections of "projects" without any apparent cohesive plan. It appears as if they just want to find ways to spend our money. This appears to be a common practice of the ACA as was promised by the San Francisco Congress person. It was passed and now we keep finding out how much it wastes!