 A bipartisan group of 73 House lawmakers — led by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Will Hurd (R-TX) — penned a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar opposing changes to Medicare’s six protected classes policy. The lawmakers stressed that adding additional prior authorization and step therapy requirements could have detrimental effects to beneficiaries who deal with HIV, cancer, mental illness, and other serious health conditions. “…We are concerned that these provisions of the proposed rule will have reverberating effects for patients suffering from multiple conditions that are currently covered and exacerbate health disparities among poor and minority communities,” the letter states. “Considering the public health implications of the proposed changes to Part D protected classes related to prior authorization and step therapies, we respectfully request that you withdraw the relevant portions of the rule.” The letter in its entirety can be accessed below. 
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
September 2023
Categories |
||
RSS Feed