Modern Healthcare: Patient Groups 'Lambasted' Proposal on Six Protected Classes

An article in Modern Healthcare highlights the overwhelming response from patient advocacy groups who "lambasted" a new proposal from the Trump Administration to alter Medicare's current 'protected classes' policy. According to the article, the Partnership for Part D Access "came out swinging against the proposed protected classes policy," arguing that it could hurt people with multiple and chronic complications already involved in intricate treatment."For many patients with complex and hard-to-treat conditions, once they are on an effective regimen of prescription medications, they can manage their illness and achieve a high quality-of-life without the utilization of expensive inpatient or emergency department care," said the Partnership's executive director, Chuck Ingolglia. The article also cites concerns from the AIDS Institute, who noted that "step therapy is unheard of in the treatment of HIV due to the danger of developing resistance to an entire class of drugs and potential side effects."

---