Medicare Advantage, Part D Drug Program Get Proposals for New Benefits in 2013
New rules will put into regs 50% discount for donut hole drugs, new tools stopping fraud and abuse
Oct. 4, 2011 New rules proposed yesterday for Medicare Advantage and the prescription drug benefit program (Part D)
will implement new benefits under the Affordable Care Act and increase patient protections, according to an announcement by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).
The proposals would activate provisions providing important new benefits including the 50% discount on covered brand name
drugs in the Part D coverage gap known as the donut hole as well as new tools to fight fraud and abuse in Medicare and improve patient
protections.
The Medicare program today provides more value to enrollees, said CMS Administrator Donald E. Berwick.
Medicare to reduce payments for readmissions, exposing hospitals to considerable financial risks; first report shows
stagnant performance, variations in care
Using the tools provided by the Affordable Care Act, as well as input provided by stakeholders and people with Medicare,
the proposed rule will help build on our work to strengthen the program.
"We are one-and-a-half years into implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and people with Medicare are already seeing
the benefits of the law.
This proposed rule would:
●· Implement the Coverage Gap Discount Program: Codify existing sub-regulatory guidance for the Coverage Gap Discount
Program required by Affordable Care Act and address operational issues that have arisen since sub-regulatory guidance was first published.
●· Expand Part D Drug Coverage: Expand the number of drugs required to be covered by Part D plans to include
benzodiazepines and, for specified health conditions, barbiturates, as required under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act
of 2008 (MIPPA).
●· Cut Red Tape for Patients and Providers: If a prescription is denied by a Part D plan, allow physicians to request
reconsiderations with the Independent Review Entity (IRE) on their patients behalf without obtaining a signed authorized representative form.
●· Raise Quality Standards for Plans: Provide CMS with explicit authority to terminate poor performing Medicare
Advantage and Part D sponsors that have failed to achieve at least a 3-star rating under CMS 5-star plan rating system for a period of three
years.
●· Expand Benefits for Dual Eligible Patients: Allow high-quality Fully Integrated Dual Eligible (FIDE) Special Needs
Plans (SNPs) the flexibility to offer supplemental benefits beyond those currently allowed for Medicare Advantage plans to better serve people
eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. This includes benefits such as non-skilled nursing activities in the home and in-home food delivery
for vulnerable beneficiaries.
●· Increase Flexibility in Part D Prescriptions: Require Part D sponsors to provide, in certain cases, the option of a
daily prorated cost-sharing rate for prescriptions for fewer than 30 days. This will enable prescribers to order trial fills for initial
prescriptions and for beneficiaries to synchronize the times that all their multiple prescription drugs are available to refill.
Sept. 12, 2011 Senior citizens are already receiving information on the 2012 drug plans from their Medicare Part D
insurance companies. Registration for next year is coming earlier this year it has been changed to open October 15 and end on December 7 in 2011.
Read more...
●· Fight Fraud and Streamline Claims Filing: Require Part D sponsors submitting prescription drug event (PDE) records
to include prescribers National Provider Identifiers (NPIs). Also, the proposed rule would require pharmacy benefit managers under Part D to
report additional financial information to increase transparency. These changes would improve data collection and tracking, help better
identify the prescriber of Part D medications, and assist our law enforcement partners in the conduct of investigations when there is
suspected fraud associated with a prescription drug claim.
Once final, the proposed rule will be effective for Calendar Year 2013 operations.
CMS invitess public comments to these proposed program changes; they will be accepted from all stakeholders through the
close of business 60 days following the publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register.
Oct. 4, 2011 New rules proposed yesterday for Medicare Advantage and the prescription drug benefit program (Part D)
will implement new benefits under the Affordable Care Act and increase patient protections, according to an announcement by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).
