19 Leading Patient Groups Urge CMS for Continuous Oversight of the Six Protected Classes Policy during Part D Benefit Redesign

On September 11, 2023, 19 patient groups sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) calling on them to reinvigorate their enforcement efforts around the Six Protected Classes. In 2025, the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions around the redesign of the Part D program will go into effect, and we expect Part D plans to change their approaches in how they structure their plan designs. CMS has been collecting input on this redesign, and is currently drafting a rule to help implement it. At this critical juncture, these groups urged the agency to be even more rigorous in their reviews of Part D plan formularies, and be more transparent about the results of this oversight. 

The Part D benefit, and specifically the drugs in Part D’s six protected classes, is a lifeline for over 50 million Americans. While Congress and CMS is in the process of changing the program, we must ensure that the parts that are working for Medicare beneficiaries are not unnecessarily interrupted. The Six Protected Classes policy exists because patients on these drugs risk extreme health consequences if they were to lose access. The Partnership commends this wide range of patient groups for bringing this issue to the attention of CMS. 

Click here to view the full letter.