The latest news about the Internal Revenue Service does nothing to comfort those who have to routinely interact with the agency, but it does seem to tie in with other behaviors by the Obama administration, regardless of whether anyone at the White House “knew about it.” So what does all this mean? Let’s take a look at some recent developments and ask ourselves where exactly the problem in Washington is located. First, the IRS scandal, consisting of a systematic targeting of tax groups with words such as “tea party” in their names, makes clear the agency is not to be...

The U.S. Senate finally came through with a vote for Marilyn Tavenner to take the helm at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ending a series of administrators who have never won a Senate vote for the job. Tavenner's ascension gives CMS a more distinct voice in policy circles than she would have enjoyed as an interim administrator, but it also ensures she will be on the hot seat in any congressional hearings related to the Affordable Care Act.

DENVER — Electrophysiology leads were a big topic at this year's meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS; Washington), and a session held on the last day reviewed the evidence in support of removing ICD leads that are the subject of an advisory when replacing the generator. Suneet Mittal, MD, of Columbia University (New York) seemed at several points in his presentation to argue in favor of removing any leads with a troubled safety history, but he concluded that more data are needed to make the call, even when a physician is already operating on the patient to replace the defibrillator unit.

DENVER — Conflicts between federal government payment policy and physician practice guidelines played a part in the government's investigation into the uses of implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and executives with the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS; Washington) used a session at the organization's annual meeting to announce HRS will seek legislation that would shield physicians from prosecution for non-covered uses of medical devices. Physicians in the state of Georgia seem to be ahead of the curve on this issue, however, given the recent announcement that Georgia's Republican governor, Nathan Deal, just signed a physician shield law into force for doctors practicing in the Peach State.