Advocacy Groups Urge Becerra Reject Trump's Policy Eliminating Protected Classes

This post originally appeared in CQ Healthbeat on February 26, 2021. 

Patient advocacy groups are pushing Biden's nominee to lead Health and Human Services to reject a last-minute Trump administration policy demonstration that weakened two pillars of Medicare Part D’s patient protections. One change allows plans to skirt Medicare's six protected classes, and the other change eliminates the requirement that insurers cover at least two drugs in all classes.

Over 130 patient advocacy groups, led by the Partnership for Part D Access, sent a letter to Xavier Becerra urging him to reverse the policy, arguing it could weaken patients' access to crucial medications. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation runs this policy demonstration. The Partnership for Part D Access told reporters it is very optimistic the Biden administration will reverse the Trump-era policy, and pointed to Biden's advocacy work on cancer research and Biden health officials’ involvement in fighting HIV/AIDS.
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Patient advocates said the Biden administration has several avenues to block the policy, such as the midnight rule moratorium. Medicare's six protected classes are anti-convulsants, antidepressants, antineoplastics, antipsychotics, anti-retrovirals and immunosuppressants.