In April, the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee voted to recommend a change in the add-on payment for Part B drugs, including reducing payment for more expensive drugs. The ACR sent a letter to MedPAC expressing concerns about the significant impacts such policies would have on rheumatologists.
As of July 1, a Florida bill increases oversight of pharmacy benefit managers and offers some protection for pharmacies. However, the legislation has limited effects on patients and providers, highlighting the need for additional reform.
At a virtual event with the chair of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health, RheumPAC donors were able to share concerns and recommendations about drug pricing policies and how they affect providers and patients.
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives released a long-anticipated plan that contains provisions to reduce U.S. drug prices according to an international price index.
A number of bills have been introduced in the 116th Congress to mitigate the impact of treatment and drug costs on U.S. patients. The ACR has reviewed the bills and supports those that most closely align with its positions on access to care.
GENEVA (Reuters)—Governments are working on a drug pricing transparency deal at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual assembly, but activists said on Thursday they fear crucial costs may be left out, enabling pharmaceutical firms to keep prices high. Campaigners say some drugs are exhorbitantly priced, even though they are often developed with public funding, and…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—A top U.S. lawmaker has launched an investigation into pharmaceutical industry pricing practices, less than a week after he and fellow Democrats introduced legislation aimed at lowering medicine prices. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who chairs the U.S. House Oversight Committee, sent letters to 12 drug makers seeking information on price increases, investment in research…
Responding to the Trump administration’s drug pricing proposals, the ACR released a set of principles it hopes will help guide any drug policy changes.1 The principles underscore what is critically needed for rheumatologists to provide the best and safest care to their patients, many of whom require ongoing treatment for chronic conditions. “The ACR has…
Greetings, Advocates! In my last update, I described the great news from February’s budget agreement that fixed Medicare’s payment adjustments so MIPS penalties would not include Part B drug costs, ensuring stabilization of the Medicare Part B drug system, among other successes. (Read the ACR’s press release on this topic.) I also described the Trump administration’s…
Potential federal drug pricing proposals could shuffle Part B drug coverage into the Part D program and restructure reimbursements for new drugs, moves that would jeopardize patient access to care, explains Kent “Kwas” Huston, MD, a rheumatologist in Kansas City, Mo., and a member of the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC). “We believe Part D…