On July 25, 2008, the Department of Defense (“DOD”) issued a proposed rule to implement section 703 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (“NDAA-2008”). Section 703 of NDAA-2008 provides that the TRICARE retail pharmacy program (“TRRx”) is to be treated as …
On June 2, 2008, First DataBank, a private publisher of prescription drug prices in the United States, announced a new proposed settlement in a class action suit alleging that the company conspired with a wholesaler to inflate the Average Wholesale Price (“AWP”) for certain prescription …
We previously reported that two pharmacy associations were challenging the implementation of a rule promulgated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) setting forth how to calculate the Average Manufacturer Price (“AMP”), the new, and importantly lower, benchmark for pharmaceutical reimbursement by Medicaid. …
Department of Defense (“DoD”) authorization bills currently pending in Congress (both H.R. 1585 and S. 1547) contain authority for a new, mandatory TRICARE retail pharmacy rebate program. TRICARE is the military’s health care program serving active duty service members, retirees, their families, survivors and certain …
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 changed the basis for the federal government’s calculation of how much it reimburses states for their Medicaid generic prescription drug purchases. Instead of using the “average wholesale price,” or AWP, which is a benchmark price, the federal reimbursement is …
We previously reported on a May 2007 Proposed Decision Memorandum issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) that would restrict the use of Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents (“ESAs”) in cancer-related anemia and similar conditions. The proposed memorandum was finalized in a July 30, …
We previously reported on some of the highlights of the most notable provisions of the final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Today, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. issued a detailed memorandum summarizing the …
After a highly anticipated revision of Medicare’s Clinical Trial Policy (“CTP”) that was issued in a July 9, 2007 Decision Memorandum (“Proposed Decision”) left many scratching their heads, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Proposed Decision Memorandum for Second Reconsideration of …
On July 6, 2007, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) posted on its website a pre-publication copy of a final rule with a comment period to implement the Medicaid Rebate Program. The regulation, which finalizes a proposal that was published in the Federal …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) continues to evaluate and modify, where necessary, Medicare coverage of anti-anemia drugs. On May 14, 2007, after reviewing clinical evidence in peer-reviewed literature and considering concerns raised by a recent FDA advisory panel, CMS issued a Proposed …
As pharmaceutical manufacturers all know by now, the Deficit Reduction Act changed the definition of the average manufacturer price reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for purposes of the Medicaid Rebate Program, requiring that customary prompt pay discounts to wholesalers are no …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposed brand-specific Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (“HCPCS”) code changes for intravenous immune globulin (“IVIG”) that may lead to enhanced reimbursement for the biologic. The HCPCS coding changes are effective July 1, 2007, and were announced in …
On April 10, 2007, CMS issued a draft of its revised Clinical Trial Policy, renamed Clinical Research Policy. The draft policy was issued after CMS’s consideration of public comments on the agency’s July 10, 2006 coverage tracking sheet announcing the reconsideration of the September 19, …
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (“DRA”) provided that any entity that receives or makes annual payments under a Medicaid State plan of at least $5,000,000 must, as a condition of receiving such payments, establish written policies for employees, contractors, and agents that provide detailed …
On March 22, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 965, a bill making emergency appropriations primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Committee’s consideration of the bill, it adopted an amendment offered by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) regarding the Medicaid Program. …
