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Stanley J. Altman, MD
Salt Lake City

JAMA. 1985;254(8):1032.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

I am writing in regard to the COMMENTARY entitled, "The Need for Diagnosis-Related Group 471," which appeared in the Feb 1, 1985, issue of JAMA.¹ I, too, would like to see the patient care costs of clinical research paid for by Medicare. However, I believe the solution to this problem (creation of DRG [diagnosis-related group] 471) suggested by Yarbro and Mortenson is not properly focused.

The prospective payment system using DRGs is a mechanism to pay for Medicare-covered services. Medicare was not meant to pay for clinical research, and Congress specifically excludes research from coverage. Before the Health Care Financing Administration can reimburse for a DRG 471, Congress must be convinced of the need to change the law. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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