The Health Policy War Room

Recently, much has been written about the escalating costs of drug prices in the US. Increasing drug prices are present challenges to those who struggle with affordability and access to their medications. The Inflation Reduction Act brought changes to the way the Medicare program reimburses for prescription drugs. Last year, President Biden challenged the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop and test new payment models that can support value-based payments and promote high-quality healthcare. CMMI has recently proposed three models intended to improve affordability and access to drugs as well as measuring the feasibility of implementation.       1. The Medicare High-Value Drug List Model Under this model, Part D plans would be encouraged to offer a low, fixed co-payment across all cost-sharing phases of the Part D drug benefit for a standardized Medicare list of generic drugs that treat chronic conditions. Patients picking plans that particip...