Part D Bid Will Fall in 2022, Reflecting Prior Years’ Trends

August 5

CMS’s annual release of Medicare Part D payment benchmarks and other bid-related information for the coming plan year tells pretty much the same story as in years past. The national average bid amount will continue to go down, while reinsurance amounts will continue to rise and premiums will see a slight increase.

“It’s just a continuation of things that we’ve seen for a while now. Reinsurance was relatively flat from 2018 to 2020, but it’s been going up” as the expanded use of high-cost therapies leads to higher catastrophic-phase spending, explains Tom Kornfield, senior consultant with Avalere Health. That trend has been closely tracked by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which continues to advocate for a Part D redesign. As Congress considers drug pricing legislation, such information could provide “more support for folks who want to restructure the Part D benefit,” suggests Kornfield.

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Radar on Medicare Advantage

Lauren Flynn Kelly Managing Editor, Radar on Medicare Advantage

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.

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