ACCC Statement in Response to Administration’s Part B Drug Pricing ANPRM

On Thursday, October 25, the Trump Administration released of a three-pronged proposal to overhaul Medicare Part B and tackle rising drug costs. ACCC looks forward to commenting on this proposal, but the Administration's actions are still in the nascent stages of development. An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) was released on October 25, with expectation that a formal proposed rule would be released in Spring 2019. Many questions are yet to be addressed regarding the intricacies in implementation of this model.

Under the proposal the Medicare Part B landscape would change significantly through the use of a mandatory demonstration through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) with an International Pricing Index (IPI) model.

In a policy statement, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) expresses overarching concerns about the impact of the proposal on the entire cancer care delivery infrastructure and, in particular, those programs and practices that see a high percentage of Medicare, Medicare only, and dual-eligible patients. ACCC urges policymakers to be aware that this policy has the potential to drastically hamper access to vital patient care and harm innovation for cancer care treatment.

ACCC looks forward to working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that any model put forth to the public is voluntary, maintains appropriate safeguards for access to patient care, and drives increased value-based propositions for the oncology community.

Posted 10/26/2018