Podcast — Drug Pricing: How Are Payers Responding to the IRA?
Podcast: IP(DC): Drug Prices, Political Pressures & Patents
In its Final Rule for the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, CMS announced changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (the Program) targeted at incentivizing providers to both enroll and stay in the Program. The Final...more
Whistleblower Watch is a critical resource for in-house counsel and compliance professionals. Each quarter, Cozen O’Connor summarizes the most notable False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement actions, settlements, and legal trends,...more
Plan administrators should review the following actions to be taken before the end of 2024 and focus on what to expect for 2025. The following checklist addresses plan amendments, notices, and other considerations for...more
On October 31, Elevance Health filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to challenge the 2025 Star Ratings system used for Medicare...more
Bipartisan efforts to lower prescription drug costs remains a core focus for the US Congress. Effective October 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the follow-on cohort for its...more
There are important new rules this year relating to prescription drug coverage which may be relevant to your Medicare plan beginning January 1, 2025. The “Open Enrollment” period this year during which eligible individuals...more
Congress may be in recess, but that has not slowed down drug pricing policy developments. In recent days, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have rolled out a series...more
Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic drug manufacturer in the United States, has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute arising from purported...more
On October 2, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final guidance for initial price applicability year (IPAY) 2027 of the Drug Price Negotiation Program established by the Inflation Reduction Act...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) made several changes to Medicare Part D that may impact whether employer-sponsored coverage will be creditable for the 2025 plan year. With open enrollment season about to begin, plan...more
Senate Judiciary Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Georgia Abortion Ban. The field hearing examined how Georgia’s abortion ban impacts women’s health, and featured patient and physician witnesses. ...more
Friday the 13th is not all bad luck. On September 13, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit’s published its much-anticipated decision in United States ex rel. Holt v. Medicare Medicaid Advisors,...more
On June 17, 2024, the final rule for Medicare Part D introduced new health IT standards, mandating the adoption of NCPDP SCRIPT Standard version 2023011 by January 1, 2028, while the NCPDP Formulary and Benefit (F&B) Standard...more
As we have previously reported, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) changed the government’s treatment of certain prescription drugs under the Medicare program by directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made significant design changes to Medicare Part D effective January 1, 2025. The changes will cause an increase in the actuarial value of Medicare Part D coverage, which will impact...more
On August 20, 2024, OIG issued Advisory Opinion No. 24-07 in which it responded to a request for an advisory opinion regarding a nonprofit grant-making organization’s (Requestor) proposal to fund a patient assistance program...more
Summer is ending and fall is rapidly approaching. For employee benefit professionals with calendar-year health and welfare benefit plans that means preparing for annual enrollment and year-end compliance requirements. This...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and thr Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published 89 FR 51238 (the Final Rule),...more
With recent CMS mandates and state-level reforms, the healthcare industry faces a pivotal moment to improve prior authorization processes, ensuring timely access to care and integrating health equity considerations....more
In this podcast, explore how health insurance companies are adapting to the Inflation Reduction Act's new requirements, including the Part D redesign. The US healthcare landscape is undergoing significant changes as the...more
As many have now heard, on Thursday, August 15, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the prices for the first 10 prescription drugs selected for negotiation with manufacturers (Selected Drugs)...more
On August 15, 2024, CMS announced the results of the first round of the negotiated prices between CMS and participating drug manufacturers for the 10 selected drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Medicare Drug...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is required to make public by September 1 the “maximum fair prices” (MFP) that CMS is setting for the first ten drugs subject to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program...more
Below is Alston & Bird’s Health Care Week in Review, which provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and congressional committee action; reports, studies,...more
On July 31, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published its mammoth proposed rule entitled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Calendar Year 2025 Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other...more