AfPA welcomes CMS decision to drop Medicare Part B Demonstration

The USA’s Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA) has welcomed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to not move forward in finalizing its Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model Demonstration.

According to Brian Kennedy, executive director of the AfPA, the “CMS’ decision to withdraw its proposed Part B demonstration is a victory for patients and ensures seniors will continue to have access to the medications their physicians prescribe. No longer will these treatments be in jeopardy in an attempt to cut costs through a risky demonstration project. Patient advocacy organizations and physicians voiced strong concerns about this demonstration over the last nine months and we applaud CMS for listening to their concerns and deciding to withdraw its proposal.”

Last February, the CMS released a proposed rule that would reinvent how medications are paid for under Part B, which covers infused or injected medications administered in a clinic or hospital setting. The demonstration project was intended to reduce prescription drug costs for the Medicare program. However, some physicians and advocates worried that it could unintentionally reduce seniors’ access to necessary medications for rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, macular degeneration and other conditions.