At the end of 2018 iBIO submitted comments on the proposed International Pricing IndEx (IPI) Model for Medicare Part B medicines.
Medicare Part B supports the sickest, most vulnerable Medicare patients and only accounts for a small fraction of all Medicare Spending.
The Trump Administration through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing the IPI Model, moving from a market-based payment formula for Part B drugs to one based on foreign prices.
Here are a few of our concerns with the IPI model.
- Imports foreign price controls on American innovation, putting America’s most vulnerable patients last and diminishing their hopes for a better future;
- Undermines a successful Medicare Part B program by introducing new middlemen between patients and the medicines they need; and
- Fails to properly consider patient benefit, quality of care, or the impact on all patients and health care providers.
- Chills investment and research in innovative treatment solutions as well as the economic growth generated by this sector in our state
The comments highlighted our concerns and encouraged CMS to engaged in a in a revised discussion of proposals that focus on solutions that truly assist patients with reducing their out-of-pocket costs while maintaining and improving access to a full range of needed treatment options.
Following the notice and comment period, CMS is considering issuing a proposed rule for the IPI in the spring of 2019, with a potential model start in spring 2020.