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CMA issues statement on Administration’s executive order on Rx drug pricing

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WASHINGTON — Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) president and CEO JC Scott issued the following statement on the Administration’s Executive Order to resurrect the rebate rule:

JC Scott

“The Administration’s decision last year to withdraw a proposed regulation on prescription drug rebates was the right decision. Reviving a rebate reform proposal now does not address the underlying flaws – that it will drastically increase Medicare premiums for America’s seniors and most vulnerable. This policy does nothing to address drug prices, it only serves to create uncertainty and raise premiums for seniors while imposing nearly $400 billion in additional taxpayer costs, all at a time when taxpayers are already footing additional costs to counter the pandemic and the national debt is at record levels.

Most importantly, the proposal on rebates does nothing to address manufacturers’ list prices for prescription drugs. Manufacturers—and only manufacturers—set drug prices. For the entirety of the Medicare Part D program, PBMs have succeeded in making prescription drug coverage affordable and accessible for Medicare beneficiaries. It makes no sense to upend that success.

Any notion that PBMs are padding their bottom line through rebates is demonstrably untrue. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in their report that virtually all – 99.6% – prescription drug rebates negotiated by PBMs with drug manufacturers, in Medicare Part D, are passed through to plan sponsors and used to lower costs for Medicare beneficiaries.

There are also serious legal issues that will need to be considered should the Administration seek to finalize a rule on rebate reform or implement changes to Part D midway through a plan year and after bids have been filed for an upcoming year.”


ECRM_06-01-22


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