Sweeping Rule Raises Onus on MAOs, Seeks Pharmacy DIR Reform

CMS on Jan. 6 released a 360-page proposed rule largely aimed at increasing Medicare Advantage plan accountability and strengthening beneficiary protections, particularly for patients who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. As the first major MA and Part D rulemaking under the Biden administration, the proposed rule would reinstate several policies that were unwound by the Trump administration, such as the return of detailed reporting medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements and provider network reviews for new and expanding MA plans.

The proposed rule, Medicare Program; Contract Year 2023 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs (87 Fed. Reg. 1842, Jan. 12, 2022), also revisits a Trump-era plan to reform pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) — a topic that has long been a thorn in the side of community pharmacies. Specifically, CMS proposed to include all pharmacy price concessions — removing an exception for those that cannot be reasonably determined — at the point of sale in the definition of “negotiated price,” which is the primary basis for determining a beneficiary’s cost of obtaining a Part D covered drug.

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• Radar on Medicare Advantage