Organizations Urge CMS to Enhance Patient Engagement and Access in Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule to codify the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, prompting various organizations to submit comments advocating for improvements. The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute is urging CMS to implement mandatory patient engagement, transparently account for patient input, and establish limits on utilization management and tier gaming for selected drugs. Families USA strongly supports the codification but emphasizes the need to reinstate a comprehensive public list of drugs eligible for negotiation, close loopholes that allow companies to evade negotiation, and reject the use of therapeutic alternative prices as a starting point for fair pricing. The American Hospital Association (AHA) recommends that CMS require drug manufacturers to make the maximum fair price available at the point of sale and eliminate retrospective rebates. Patients Rising supports Medicare's authority to negotiate drug prices but stresses that the savings must directly ... 
