Chronic Care Policy Alliance strongly opposes any proposal that weakens Medicare’s six protected classes policy. The six protected classes ensure that patients who suffer from certain life-threatening diseases can access the medication they need to survive. Patients protected by this policy have complex needs that cannot be addressed by a one-size-fits-all approach.
Changes to the six protected classes policy threaten patient access to personalized, effective treatments. Additionally, reductions to the required number of drugs, from two to one in each class, will further limit access to medicines for all Part D beneficiaries, an especially daunting proposition during the ongoing pandemic.
We urge the Biden administration to withdraw this demonstration and instead focus on policies that improve coverage and strengthen access for all Medicare beneficiaries.