Medicare’s system for ensuring that patients are able to get the specific medicine they need for certain chronic diseases is working, and the government should not tinker with it, a panel of patient advocates said.
Medicare plans that cover the prescriptions already have adequate tools to keep pharmaceutical prices contained, Catherine Finley, senior adviser for a coalition called the Partnership for Part D Access, said. She spoke during a Nov. 28 panel discussion on changes to the drug benefit proposed for 2020.
Insurers must cover substantially all medicines in six “protected classes” of drugs, but the Centers for Medicare & ...