House subcommittee votes to give MedPAC access to drug rebate data

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on health passed a bill by a voice vote that would allow Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and its Medicare counterpart to access CMS data on rebates for Medicare Parts B and D drugs. MedPAC is an independent organization that advises Congress on Medicare policies.

The bill would amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to resolve what House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.) called in his opening statement before the subcommittee "a technical issue" in the law, which has prevented commissions from accessing such data...