On July 31, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published its mammoth proposed rule entitled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Calendar Year 2025 Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other...more
8/16/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Price Inflation ,
Rebates ,
Section 340B
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published the CMS Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes Final Rule (“PA Final Rule”) in the Federal Register....more
Only a few days remain for stakeholders—which includes drug manufacturers, patients, health care providers, pharmacies and others— to take advantage of a rare opportunity to influence the statutory contours of the 340B Drug...more
3/26/2024
/ Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRSA ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
MACPAC ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 340B
On October 18, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research regarding the “availability and potential technical ability of health-care related...more
On August 29, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the ten (10) Medicare Part D drugs selected for the first round of negotiations of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (Program)—a few...more
On August 15, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (the “Tenth Circuit”) issued its decision in Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) v. Mulready, one of the first major opinions to further define...more
8/31/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Preemption ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rutledge v Pharmaceutical Care Management Association ,
SCOTUS
On August 24, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an opinion and order in Texas Medical Association, et al. v. United States Department of Health and Human Services(“HHS”)(“TMA III”). TMA...more
8/30/2023
/ Billing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Surprise Medical Bills
On August 3, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Labor, and the Department of Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) temporarily suspended the federal Independent Dispute...more
8/14/2023
/ Billing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Fees ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
U.S. Treasury
In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made significant headway in its implementation of the drug pricing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
How can stakeholders respond to, implement, and comply...more
On June 22, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its proposed “Transitional Coverage for Technologies” (TCET) pathway—the Biden administration’s highly anticipated take on a mechanism to expedite...more
On June 9, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its next list of Part B drugs subject to the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program’s adjusted coinsurance rates (“Rebatable Drugs”) from...more
On June 2, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued instructions for the process by which a manufacturer may submit a request for a qualifying single-source drug to be considered for the Small Biotech...more
On May 12, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Draft Guidance on the Part D Manufacturer Discount Program (“Discount Program”)—a key component of the Part D Redesign provisions of the Inflation...more
On May 11, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (the “HELP Committee” or the “Committee”) passed a bipartisan bill to expand federal regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) for group...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August 2022, included significant and controversial drug-pricing provisions.
What key compliance issues must industry stakeholders consider as these provisions are put...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) is using its annual rulemaking process to update the CMS payment system rules for fiscal year (“FY”) 2024 as a mechanism to advance health equity systematically across...more
On April 18, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an Information Collection Request (ICR) addressing the “Drug Price Negotiation Process” for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, including...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued an information collection request (ICR) addressing the collection of data elements CMS must use to determine its offer amount when negotiating a selected drug’s...more
IRA Provision: The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program -
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a fact sheet and initial guidance for the implementation of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation...more
IRA Provision: The Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program -
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a fact sheet and a list of 27 Part B “rebatable drugs”...more
On February 9, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a fact sheet and its initial guidance documents addressing the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program for Medicare Parts B and D...more
With the recent midterm elections changing the composition of Congress, and the Biden administration’s first opportunities to advance its policy priorities from the very beginning of the rulemaking process, what are the key...more
To the relief of many providers and facilities and with just three weeks to go until the implementation date, the U.S. Department of Health & Humans Services (HHS) announced that it is extending its policy of not enforcing...more
On February 23, 2022, in the case captioned Texas Med. Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., No. 6:21-cv-00425-JDK (E.D. Tex.), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued the first major judicial...more
During a National Stakeholder Call on January 18, 2022, Ellen Montz—Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...more