American Heart Association’s Successful Federal Advisory Committee Appointments

During the past year, the American Heart Association secured the appointments of volunteers to several federal advisory committees to help address the needs of heart disease and stroke patients. These committees include:

• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Effective Health Care Stakeholders Group, which develops evidence on the effectiveness and comparative effectiveness of different treatments and healthcare interventions of importance to the Medicare, Medicaid and State Child Health Insurance programs;
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Health and Human Services and CMS on whether medical items and services are “reasonable and necessary” for Medicare coverage; and
• The Food and Drug Administration’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, which advises the FDA commissioner on the regulation of tobacco products. The committee reviews and evaluates safety, dependence and health issues relating to tobacco.