COA: New Part D Reimbursement Is Not ‘Reasonable and Relevant’
Specialty pharmacies and oncology practices dispensing costly specialty medications have long complained that Medicare Part D direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees are not appropriate for these drugs. Efforts to do away with these retroactive fees were finally successful, but revamped reimbursement has brought a new problem — underwater reimbursement — claims the Community Oncology Alliance (COA).
DIR includes rebates and price concessions that occur after the point of sale. According to CMS, total DIR “has been growing significantly in recent years.…In 2020, pharmacy price concessions accounted for about 4.8 percent of total Part D gross drug costs ($9.5 billion), up from 0.01 percent ($8.9 million) in 2010.”