The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 10, 2014, that they would not finalize a proposal to eliminate protected class status for any drugs under Medicare Part D “at this time.” In a letter to members of Congress, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said that the agency will abandon its proposal to exclude antidepressants and immunosuppressants for the 2015 coverage year (and antipsychotics in 2016) from their status as protected drug classes. In the letter, Administrator Tavenner notes that CMS may look to advance these proposed changes “in future years.” The Partnership for Part D Access applauded CMS on their decision to withdraw this dangerous proposal. Click below to view the letter.

In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), key Republican leaders urged HHS to rescind a proposed rule that could threaten access to prescription drugs for seniors and people with disabilities. In the letter—spearheaded by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and signed by 15 Senate Republicans—the Senators urge CMS to retract the ruling immediately, indicating that “the most important pillars of the Part D program have been its robust competition among plans, protection from government interference in contract negotiations, and protection of access to life-saving drugs.” The Senators warn that the proposed rule could “undermine each of these pillars,” resulting in as many as 14 million seniors losing their current drug coverage. Click the document below to view the letter.

On March 7, 2014, the Partnership for Part D Access filed comments urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rescind the proposed rule that would eliminate protected class status for several categories of drugs under Medicare Part D. The comment letter notes that in the proposed rule, CMS fundamentally misinterprets the intent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by weakening the protected classes policy and transforming a legislative directive to identify classes of clinical concern into one targeting classes of alleged cost concern. The studies cited by the agency do not support its own cost savings assumptions and the rule ignores the substantial spending associated with the destabilization of patient care that it will precipitate. By using it as a tool for cutting costs at the expense of the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries, CMS contradicts Congress’s intent to improve and expand the protected classes policy. Click "Download File" to view the comments.

In a letter to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, House Energy & Commerce Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (PA-18) questions the agency’s decision to eliminate protected access to mental health drugs on Medicare Part D plans. “The Proposed Rule fails to address the Agency’s past acknowledgement that Medicare beneficiaries require access to medications in therapeutic classes where different drugs are not interchangeable,” Rep. Murphy writes. “The CMS proposal appears not to be grounded in a concern over beneficiary health. Instead, the proposal seeks to increase profits through increased rebate-negotiating leverage for private Prescription Drug Plans Sponsors or insurers.”

On March 7, 2014, the Partnership for Part D Access filed comments urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rescind the proposed rule that would eliminate protected class status for several categories of drugs under Medicare Part D. The comment letter notes that in the proposed rule, CMS fundamentally misinterprets the intent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by weakening the protected classes policy and transforming a legislative directive to identify classes of clinical concern into one targeting classes of alleged cost concern. The studies cited by the agency do not support its own cost savings assumptions and the rule ignores the substantial spending associated with the destabilization of patient care that it will precipitate. By using it as a tool for cutting costs at the expense of the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries, CMS contradicts Congress’s intent to improve and expand the protected classes policy. Click ‘Read More’ to view the comments.

On March 5, 2014, fifty members of the House Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees penned a letter opposing a proposed Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule that would eliminate protected class status for several categories of drugs under Medicare Part D. The lawmakers say that the rule, which will eliminate protected class status for several categories of drugs, will place harmful limits on Medicare beneficiaries’ access to necessary medications that would otherwise be covered. The group stated that Part D has “demonstrated the ability to provide access to important life-saving and life-enhancing medications for the vast majority of America’s seniors and non-elderly people with severe disabilities.” Click below to view the letter.