Podcast — Drug Pricing: How Are Payers Responding to the IRA?
Podcast: IP(DC): Drug Prices, Political Pressures & Patents
In April 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued multiple pieces of guidance related to Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, including the Final CY 2026 Part D...more
In April, CMS finalized its Contract Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule (Final Rule). With CMS releasing the 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Proposed Rule in December under the Biden Administration,...more
Several April releases seem to signal some basis for optimism for stakeholders in Medicare Advantage and Part D, though with sufficient undertones to recommend caution....more
On April 4, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the contract year (“CY”) 2026 final rule for the Medicare Advantage (“MA”) program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program (“Part D”),...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released on April 4, 2025, the final rule for contract year (CY) 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit...more
Two recent announcements from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offer early indicators as to how the Trump administration, including CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, may approach the Medicare Advantage (MA)...more
This past week, the Trump administration put its first major stamp on the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two final regulatory documents related to MA: - The...more
Health care providers and payers have been subject to a flurry of developments at the federal level in recent weeks. Considering that health care represents almost 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product, this was perhaps...more
Key Takeaways - - CMS is expected to issue the 2026 final rate notice for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plans by April 7, 2025. - The January 2025 advance notice proposed policies that would increase payments to MA...more
Last week, the contract year (CY) 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D final reg entered the clearance process at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As mentioned in a previous Regs & Eggs blog post, OMB’s review is...more
In addition to the Part D Benefit Redesign, the IRA’s Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP) went into effect beginning January 1, 2025. The MPPP requires Part D Sponsors (PDPs) to allow Part D beneficiaries to pay for...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized material changes to the overpayment rules for Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D effective January 1, 2025. These changes create new ambiguity and practical challenges...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently made meaningful changes to its regulations interpreting the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) so-called “60-day Rule,” which requires Medicare providers to affirmatively...more
In its Final Rule for the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, CMS announced changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (the Program) targeted at incentivizing providers to both enroll and stay in the Program. The Final...more
With recent CMS mandates and state-level reforms, the healthcare industry faces a pivotal moment to improve prior authorization processes, ensuring timely access to care and integrating health equity considerations....more
In the context of Medicare Advantage (“MA”) reform initiatives, we previously addressed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) December 27, 2022 proposal to amend its regulations set forth at 42 C.F.R. §...more
On July 3, 2024, a federal court in Texas stayed provisions of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) contract year 2025 Final Rule that amended the longstanding Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and Part D agent and...more
As part of its 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule (the Final Rule), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a number of regulatory changes relating to how Medicare Advantage (MA) plans offer...more
This issue of McDermott’s Healthcare Regulatory Check-Up highlights regulatory activity for April 2024. We discuss several US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agency actions, including the Calendar Year (CY) 2025...more
In a recent On the Subject (available here), we reported on the impact of the final rule (final rule) interpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on self-funded group health plans that contract with licensed...more
As part of its 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule (the Final Rule), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made a number of enrollment changes impacting dual eligible special needs plans (DSNPs). The...more
On April 4, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Contract Year (CY) 2025 Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D Policy and Technical Changes final rule (“Final Rule”), which included revisions...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
On April 4, 2024, CMS published a final rule implementing certain policy changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program (Medicare Part C) and the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program (Medicare Part D). According to the...more
On April 4, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued the contract year 2025 (CY2025) Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule (the “Final Rule”). In addition to finalizing its CY2025 proposed rule,...more