Resolution Expressing Support for Medicare Part D’s Six Protected Classes

Today, the Co-Chairs of the House Mental Health and HIV/AIDS Caucuses introduced a resolution expressing support for Medicare Part D’s six protected classes policy, which is an essential safeguard that ensures that beneficiaries have access to needed medications. 

The Partnership for Part D Access, which represents a wide variety of healthcare stakeholders including patient advocacy groups, thanks the Co-Chairs, Reps. Grace Napolitano, John Katko, Barbara Lee, and Jenniffer González Colón for introducing this resolution which demonstrates bipartisan support for maintaining this important patient access policy. 

Medicare’s six-protected classes policy, which has been in place since the Medicare Part D program was implemented, requires that plans cover all or substantially all medications within those classes, which include: antidepressants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants, antiretrovirals, and antineoplastics. The six-protected classes policy ensures that those living with mental illness, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, cancer, Parkinson’s, and those receiving organ transplantation have access to needed medications. The policy exists to protect patients from risks, complications, and negative outcomes from not having access to these medications. Congress has repeatedly stood up against attempts to weaken these patient protections and this resolution will go a long way to reaffirm that commitment. 

We urge members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor this important resolution.