For Immediate Release:
Contact: Kelly Broadway, 202-808-8853
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. – The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the memorandum entitled “Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program: Draft Guidance, Implementation of Sections 1191 – 1198 of the Social Security Act for Initial Price Applicability Year 2028 and Manufacturer Effectuation of the Maximum Fair Price in 2026, 2027, and 2028.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) increased premiums and cost sharing for consumers and is causing a massive reduction in plan choices. Now, it is coming for community-based providers. By cutting reimbursement to doctors, the IRA will further increase costs by driving doctors out of business or pushing them into the arms of big hospitals. Congress needs to repeal these counterproductive reimbursement cuts and rework the entire IRA Part D changes to stabilize the market and start driving costs down, not up,” said Joel White, president of CAHC.
In the comment letter, CAHC called for the following recommendations:
- Stop market consolidation that leads to monopolies and higher prices
- Follow the law when selecting drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act and applying rules for orphan drugs
- Fix problems with the Medicare Transaction Facilitator so lower drug prices can take effect at the point of sale
- Make the program transparent, accountable, and open to public input and oversight