Here are 4 Key Health Policy Items in the Inflation Reduction ActFierce Healthcare | By Robert King The House passed on late Friday a sweeping healthcare, climate and taxes package that includes major reforms on drug prices and extends boosted Affordable Care Act subsidies through 2025. But the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature, could reshape many other aspects of the healthcare industry. It would give Medicare the power for the first time to negotiate a small subset of Part D and Part B drugs. Here are four other health policy changes to look for in the bill:
Experts say regulating the bill will have a big impact on providers, including those that rely heavily on reimbursements for Medicare Part B drugs. Some providers purchase their own products under a buy and bill model and then get reimbursed by Medicare for the average sales price of the Part B drug plus 4% for storage and handling costs. The problem is that model doesn’t work if Medicare will reimburse for a smaller negotiated rate, experts say. “If you are buying high and getting paid low you are, in essence, underwater,” Urgo told Fierce Healthcare. “If you are buying a drug at $1,000 and the reimbursement under Medicare with [the negotiated price] is only $800 you are $200 in the red. To address that there is going to be a need for providers to purchase products at the [negotiated rate] as opposed to market prices.” The Community Oncology Alliance has raised concerns about this potential change. “History has clearly documented that bluntly cutting Medicare payments like proposed in the reconciliation bill, will lead to cancer practice closures and consolidations,” said COA Executive Director Ted Okon in a statement back in July when the drug price reform text was introduced. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, proposed an amendment to the bill that would have required drugmakers to rebate the government any excess costs above the negotiated prices. The amendment was not agreed to before the final passage earlier this month. |