Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) today sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma applauding policies in the proposed rule, “Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses.”
In the letter, CSRxP wrote:
“Given the drug pricing crisis facing U.S. consumers and taxpayers today, CSRxP welcomes actions from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to lower drug prices and reduce patient out-of-pocket costs. We therefore support policies that interject more competition and transparency into the prescription drug marketplace in CMS’s proposed rule.”
Encouraging CMS’s efforts to lower drug prices and reduce patient out-of-pocket costs, CSRxP also raised concerns about overly-prescriptive measures in the proposed rule that could have adverse consequences, such as requiring a Medicare Part D drug’s negotiated price at point-of-sale (POS) to reflect the lowest possible plan reimbursement amount to pharmacies. As CSRxP noted:
“Such a policy would increase the cost of prescription drug coverage for all Part D enrollees through higher premiums and do nothing to address the root cause of the core problem: drug manufacturers – and drug manufacturers alone – are setting list prices too high and are raising at unsustainably high rates. This unnecessarily increases costs for Medicare beneficiaries and their families and jeopardizes beneficiary access to the medications they need. As such, we urge CMS to consider alternative market-based solutions that will bring list prices down and lower costs for consumers and taxpayers, while not disrupting existing competition in the marketplace.”
Reinforcing a shared commitment to advancing bipartisan, market-based solutions, CSRxP added:
“CSRxP’s comments reflect our strong desire to continue working with the administration to develop and implement these and other bipartisan, market-based approaches that improve prescription drug affordability, while at the same time preserve access to innovative therapies that enable patients to get well and stay healthy. Without major actions, consumers and taxpayers will continue to face the unsustainable growth in drug costs that are already out-of-control.”
To read the full letter click HERE.