Draft bill comes after publication of CAHC drug pricing report recommending a budget neutral Part D out-of-pocket cap that does not raise premiums
WASHINGTON, DC (May 23, 2019): The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) – a coalition of employers, insurers, life science companies, PBMs, brokers, agents, patient groups, and physician organizations – responded today to the unveiling of bipartisan draft legislation establishing an out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.
The proposal comes on the heels of CAHC’s Prescriptions for Savings report, which recommends a budget neutral cap on out-of-pocket expenses, indexed to inflation, to protect beneficiaries in case of catastrophic drug expenses.
CAHC President Joel White released the following statement:
“We are pleased to see bipartisan action to enact a true out-of-pocket limit on patient costs,” said CAHC President Joel White. “Most private insurers limit the out-of-pocket expenses that consumers rack up in a given year and it is past time Medicare took a page from their book and offered these same protections.”
White continued,“We look forward to responding to the committees’ solicitation for comments and offering recommendations on commonsense ways to allocate liability in the catastrophic phase while creating incentives to better manage costs. We have outlined a plan to do this in a budget neutral way that does not raise beneficiaries’ premiums and we thank the committees for taking a first step toward putting that plan into action.”
The draft bill’s sponsors – including Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), along with Ranking Members Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Greg Walden (R-OR) – have set a deadline for feedback on the draft legislation of June 6th.