WASHINGTON DC (September 12, 2019) — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles "Chuck" Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma requesting they use regulatory authority to reform direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) with respect to pharmacies under the Medicare Part D program. Specifically, the senators are asking HHS to move forward with the pharmacy DIR reforms that were included in the CMS November 30, 2018 proposed rule “Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses,” and finalize them for the plan year 2021. Implementing these reforms would provide payment certainty that enables pharmacies to continue to serve beneficiaries and help them get the best outcomes from their prescribed medications.

“CMS documented an extraordinary 45,000 percent increase in DIR fees paid by pharmacies from 2010 to 2017. This is an untenable trend for pharmacies and causes higher prices for beneficiaries at the pharmacy counter,” the senators wrote. “Moving forward with the proposed reforms, we urge the agency to redefine ‘negotiated price’ to include all pharmacy price concessions at the point-of-sale and establish a broader definition of ‘price concession’ to bring clarity to the true price Medicare pays for a Part D drug and provide financial relief to beneficiaries, many of whom struggle to afford their medications.”

The letter was signed by 23 bipartisan members of the Senate Finance Committee, including Sens Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), James Lankford (R-OK), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Thune (R-SD), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Text of the letter is available HERE.

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