Congress raises pressure to withdraw Part B rule

In a letter sent Monday, 242 members of the U.S. House urged acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt to withdraw a proposed rule that would change reimbursement for drugs administered under Medicare Part B. The letter was signed by 238 House Republicans, including Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and four Democrats: Brad Ashford (Neb.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).

In the first phase of CMS's proposal, reimbursement for most providers would change from Average Sales Price (ASP) plus 6% to ASP plus 2.5% and a flat fee, and in the second CMS would experiment with one or more value-based purchasing initiatives (see BioCentury, March 14). ...