The undersigned pharmacy organizations would like to thank the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) for the opportunity to comment on the Proposed Rule for the Medicare Program; Merit-Based Incentive Payment System and Alternative Payment Model Incentive under the Physician Fee Schedule (“PFS”), and Criteria for Physician-Focused Payment Models (the “Proposed Rule”).
On June 15, 2016, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC)1 released its June 2016 Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System2. Of the 347-page report, three chapters focus on examining policy issues related to prescription drugs, with a particular focus around “rapid growth in drug prices, which can affect beneficiary access to needed medications, as well as the financial sustainability of the Medicare program.”
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is writing to express our opposition to certain mandated provisions in S. 3419 – C, an act establishing and mandating requirements for step therapy programs used by insurers, et al. This legislation as proposed would impose unnecessary additional requirements for an insurer’s step therapy program.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) acknowledges that abuse deterrent opioid analgesic drug products are appropriately prescribed for certain patients, but should not be required by state mandates. For this reason, AMCP opposes House Bill 1048 because it implements a state mandate requiring the use of the abuse deterrent products that may not be necessary for every patient.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) thanks the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for its work in developing strategies to address the growing opioid epidemic in the United States and for the opportunity to provide comments in response to the draft technical brief titled “Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Models of Care for Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care Settings.”
As healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders, we are all carefully watching the development of the biosimilars market in the United States. As policymakers look at ways to control spending growth in the healthcare sector, biosimilars offer a unique opportunity to create savings and improve patient access, similar to what the generics market has done for small-molecule therapies.
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) appreciates that the Senate and House have each passed S. 524 and it is now under consideration by your Conference Committee. We wanted to take this opportunity to renew our strong support for passage of S. 524. AMCP supports a holistic, comprehensive, and multi-stakeholder approach among health care providers and patients that truly addresses the opioid epidemic.