Prescription Drugs

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We follow up on our previous blog post concerning the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in favor of 340B hospitals. The Supreme Court previously held that “absent a survey of hospitals’ acquisition costs, HHS may not vary the reimbursement rates for 340B hospitals” and therefore, that HHS exceeded its statutory authority by varying the 2018 and 2019 rates for 340B hospitals without first conducting such survey.Continue Reading 340B Update: District Court Rejects 2022 Payment Methodology for 340B Hospitals Following Supreme Court Win

On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of “340B” hospitals in a notable statutory interpretation case concerning how the federal Medicare program reimburses hospitals for prescription drugs. The case, which was brought by the American Hospital Association, arises from reimbursement reductions imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2018 and 2019 on hospitals participating in the 340B program (which the Court noted are hospitals that “generally serve low-income or rural communities”). In those years, HHS sought to impose reductions in reimbursement due to favorable pricing available to 340B hospitals under that program. The hospitals challenged those reductions based on the process HHS followed when setting the reimbursement rates, claiming that HHS’s failure to conduct a survey of hospitals’ average acquisition costs for the drugs prevented HHS from varying reimbursement rates for this distinct group. Therefore, according to the hospitals, HHS was required to pay them based on the average sales price charged by manufacturers for the drugs.Continue Reading Supreme Court Decides in Favor of 340B Hospitals Regarding Medicare Reimbursement Methodology

In a Memorandum Opinion, Judge Amit P. Mehta, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, vacated a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Final Rule, just days before its July 9 effective date. The Final Rule would have required the list prices of prescription drugs to be included in direct-to-consumer advertisements.
Continue Reading Federal Judge Vacates Final Rule on Drug Pricing Transparency in Consumer Advertising

On May 10, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a Final Rule on drug pricing transparency in consumer advertisements. The new rule requires direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements to include the list price of prescription drugs and biological products distributed in the US that are reimbursable by Medicare or Medicaid, whether directly or indirectly.
Continue Reading CMS Final Rule on Drug Pricing Transparency in Consumer Television Ads

On June 1, 2018, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed into law Public Act 18-77 “An Act Limiting Auto Refills of Prescription Drugs Covered Under the Medicaid Program and Requiring the Commissioner of Social Services to Provide CHIP Data to the Health Information Technology Officer” (PA 18-77). This legislation allows the Department of Social Services (DSS) to prohibit pharmacies from automatically refilling certain prescription drugs for Medicaid beneficiaries and prohibits DSS from paying for refills of such drugs unless it receives a request for payment from the beneficiary or his or her legal representative.
Continue Reading Connecticut Enacts Law to Limit Automatic Prescription Refills for Medicaid Beneficiaries

The Joint Commission (TJC) recently released new and revised pain assessment and management standards and elements of performance for its hospital accreditation program. These standards, effective January 1, 2018, follow an extensive review by TJC of current pain assessment and management guidelines compared with TJC’s standards.
Continue Reading The Joint Commission Releases Pain Assessment and Management Requirements