University of Vermont Professor of Medicine Philip Ades, M.D., a cardiologist and director of cardiac rehabilitation at Fletcher Allen Health Care, is featured in a front-page “Personal Journal” section article that appeared in the April 1, 2014 Wall Street Journal.

On February 19, 2014, Medicare coverage of cardiac rehabilitation services for patients with chronic heart failure was approved. Ades, a long-time champion of cardiac rehabilitation services reimbursement, was asked by his national organization – the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation – to chair a committee charged with assembling a group to write a white paper on the evidence of benefits and costs of cardiac rehabilitation for provision to Medicare. In fall 2013, the group published a review paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure that specifically highlights the benefits of cardiac rehab for congestive heart failure.

“In their [Medicare’s] decision-making process, the review paper was their first reference, so we did have an impact,” says Ades.

Ades is currently conducting a study through UVM’s Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, to provide financial incentives to patients on Medicaid to attend cardiac rehab exercise sessions. Research evidence, says Ades, shows that this population does not attend CR or do exercise. Early results show promise for the incentivized program. The project is funded by UVM’s Center on Biomedical Research Excellence IDeA award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH under grant number P20GM12345).