National Association of Chain Drug Stores CEO Steven Anderson on Tuesday in a letter asked lawmakers to pass a bill (HR 4296) that would require physicians who participate in Medicare to adopt e-prescribing by 2011 to finance legislation (S 1951, HR 3700) that would revise a new rule related to Medicaid reimbursements to pharmacies, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 4/23).
The rule, which would redefine the average manufacturer price for brand-name and generic medications, would reduce Medicaid reimbursements for treatments. States use AMPs to calculate Medicaid reimbursement rates for medications. Under the rule, the federal government would post AMPs on a Web site that consumers could access. In addition, the rule would limit the federal share of the cost of brand-name medications when at least one generic version is available. The rule would exclude pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. According to CMS, the rule would save the federal government and states $8.4 billion over the next five years (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/18/07).
NACDS and the National Community Pharmacists Association in November 2007 filed a joint lawsuit against HHS and CMS over the rule, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in December 2007 issued a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the regulation, which would have taken effect in January.
Legislative Response