The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to its new Draft Guidance, “Advanced Notice of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2021 for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies – Part II” published on February 5, 2020.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to its new Draft Guidance, “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2021; Notice Requirement for Non-Federal Governmental Plans” published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2020.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to its new Draft Guidance, “Importation of Certain FDA-Approved Human Prescription Drugs, Including Biological Products, under Section 801(d)(1)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [FDA-2019-D-5743]” published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2019.
On February 5, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Part II of the Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2021 for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies, outlining proposed payment changes and other requirements for plan sponsors participating in MA and the Part D program for the upcoming contract year.
On February 5, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the CY 2021 and 2022 Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program Policy and Technical Rule, outlining proposed programmatic changes to the MA and Part D programs for two upcoming contract years. In a break from historic precedent, many of the program and policy changes that historically had been included in the Draft Call Letter were included in this proposed rule.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the opportunity to provide written comments regarding the new proposed rulemaking on “Medicare and State Healthcare Programs: Fraud and Abuse; Revisions to Safe Harbors Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, and Civil Monetary Penalty Rules Regarding Beneficiary Inducements” published in the Federal Register on October 17, 2019.
In December 2016, AMCP applauded the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act as it included many provisions that will directly improve the health of Americans, from prompting new cures for cancer to combating opioid addiction.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to its proposed rule, “Medicare Program; Secure Electronic Prior Authorization for Medicare Part D [CMS-4819-P]” published in the Federal Register on June 19, 2019.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to the notice titled “Advance Summary of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2020 for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates, Part C and Part D Payment Policies and 2020 Call Letter [CMS-2018-0154]” released on January 30, 2019.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to its, “Request for Information; Reducing Administrative Burden To Put Patients Over Paperwork [CMS-6082-NC],” published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2019.
On July 23, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) released the Chairman’s Mark of the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA) of 2019, bipartisan legislation to reduce health care costs. AMCP will continue to engage with staff on the Finance committee on these provisions as we have with Members and staff on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is pleased to share our thoughts on the “Lower Health Care Costs Act” (“the Act”) as released on May 23, 2019 by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (“HELP Committee”).
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to its proposed rule “21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the Health IT Certification Program” published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2019. AMCP appreciates ONC’s effort to remove barriers to interoperability and health information exchange.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the opportunity to comment on its public hearing on Increasing Access and Facilitating the Efficient Development of Biosimilar and Interchangeable Insulin Products [FDA-2019-N-1132].
As stakeholders that support patient access to affordable medicines and competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace, we applaud the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) efforts to foster the development of biosimilar medicines for America’s patients.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to the updated draft industry guidance on “Nonproprietary Naming of Biological Products” published in the Federal Register on March 8, 2019. AMCP appreciates FDA’s ongoing efforts to issue and update guidance that allow health care providers to safely and effectively use biosimilar products.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for the opportunity to provide comments in response to the proposed rule titled “Fraud and Abuse; Removal of Safe Harbor Protection for Rebates Involving Prescription Pharmaceuticals and Creation of a New Safe Harbor Protection for Certain Point-of-Sale Reductions in Price on Prescription Pharmaceuticals and Certain Pharmacy Benefit Manager Service Fees [OIG-0936-P]” published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2019.
AMCP writes to request your veto on House Bill 435 which implements an exception process for coverage of a drug removed from a formulary at the previous cost sharing level. Imposing government mandated restrictions on formularies as outlined in the bill could have the unintended consequence of raising the overall cost of health care coverage for patients.
AMCP shares concern about the rising costs of medications and the impact on patients, payers, and providers. In 2017, AMCP identified three key areas where AMCP members help to improve health outcomes and lower costs. These areas focus on enhancing value for outcomes; enhanced approaches to medication coverage determinations; and market competition for generics and biosimilars to lower costs.