CMS leaves door open to passing on Part D rebates

CMS said it is reviewing comments about a proposal to require Medicare Part D plans to return a portion of drug manufacturer rebates to consumers. The agency noted that it could enact mandatory point-of-sale drug rebates administratively through notice-and-rulemaking procedures. The statements were published in CMS's final rule for the 2019 Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage programs released Monday.

In February when CMS requested comments on the rebate proposal, Erin Trish told BioCentury that it would be impossible to implement the policy prior to 2020. Trish is associate director of health policy at the University of Southern California’s Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics (see BioCentury, Feb. 19)...