Mintz’s PBM practice is pleased to present a 2024 year-to-date PBM Policy and Legislative Update. This edition builds upon prior issues and summarizes activity from January through June that impacts the PBM industry. It...more
On April 23, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published final rules setting forth Changes to the Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program for Contract Year 2024--Remaining...more
4/24/2024
/ Agents ,
Beneficiaries ,
Brokers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) ,
Medicare Part C ,
Medicare Part D ,
Mental Health ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Social Security Act
The PBM regulatory landscape continues to evolve rapidly at both federal and state levels, making it critical for our clients involved in the PBM space to stay apprised of developments in the industry. Our team actively...more
Mintz’s PBMs & Pharmacies practice is pleased to present the second edition of our Mintz IRA Update, a regular publication that delves into developments under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) impacting the health...more
In conjunction with the surge in state legislative efforts to regulate the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry, Congress and federal agencies have ramped up PBM oversight efforts as part of the ongoing battle to lower...more
6/7/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Transparency
GAO recently released a report analyzing the use of pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) and efforts to manage drug spending and use in the Medicare Part D program. Importantly, the report found that use of PBMs reduced Part D...more
Earlier this month, CMS issued a final rule aimed at lowering drug prices and reducing out-of-pocket expenses in Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D. This rule is the Administration’s latest effort to address prescription...more
5/29/2019
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Final Rules ,
Gag Clauses ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs
Last month, we highlighted a few of the changes CMS proposes in Parts I and II of the Advance Notice and Draft Call Letter. Here, we take a look at CMS’s next steps to combat opioid misuse. CMS says it best in its Fact...more
CMS recently proposed several important changes for the Medicare Advantage ("MA") program that relate to payment, benefit design, and new actions to combat the opioid crisis. These changes, among others, were proposed in...more
2/7/2019
/ Advance Notice ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Call Letter ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMMI ,
Healthcare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Risk Adjustment Formula
The government is focusing on opioids. Whether it be program policies, enforcement, or legislation, combating the opioid epidemic continues to be a major focus for government officials. It is also a major piece of the...more
6/22/2018
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HELP ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Legislative Committees ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Part C ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Substance Abuse
As we highlighted earlier this month, CMS released both the Contract Year 2019 Final Rules for Medicare Advantage and Part D (Final Rules) and the 2019 Call Letter. These documents are not typically released at the same time,...more
CMS has slowly but surely been providing additional guidance to Medicare Plans (Medicare Advantage and Part D plans) regarding steps they can and should take to address the opioid epidemic as it relates to their...more
3/5/2018
/ Advance Notice ,
Call Letter ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Healthcare ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
New Guidance ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs
Americans today are facing an opioid epidemic that stems in part from the misuse of prescription drugs. CMS takes aim at this crisis in its CY 2019 Medicare Advantage and Part D Proposed Rule (Proposed Rules) by setting out a...more
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2017 Advance Rate Notice and draft Call Letter (“2017 Draft Call Letter”) for the Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and Part D programs. With the final 2017...more
This week’s ML Strategies Health Care Update highlights the recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) forum on prescription drug costs, which featured players from every corner of the industry, including top...more
The 340B Drug Discount Program has operated for more than 20 years with just a few governing regulations codified in 42 CFR Part 10. Through the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), Congress adopted several amendments to the 340B...more
In recent years, copayment coupon programs have become standard promotional practices for both large and small pharmaceutical manufacturers. Copayment coupons are typically offered to commercially insured patients in order...more
10/24/2014
/ Co-payments ,
Coupons ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs
Trends & Analysis -
Between our last Qui Tam Update and the end of June, 65 health care–related qui tam cases were unsealed (28 in April, 18 in May, and 19 in June). Within those 65 cases...more