Chronic Care Policy Alliance (CCPA) hosted a webinar, “The State of Chronic Disease: How a New Federal Rule Will Increase Prescription Drug Costs for Patients,” where Carl Schmid, Executive Director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute discussed how a federal policy change will leave many patients facing higher out-of-pocket costs for their prescription medications.
The full recording of the webinar is available here. Please complete the registration form after clicking on the link to access the recording.
As outlined in the webinar, recent policy changes in the 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) will do the following:
- Allow the exclusion of manufacturer cost-sharing assistance from counting towards patients’ out-of-pocket maximums in the commercial market
- Prevent patients from accessing the medications they depend upon and create unnecessary barriers to maintaining effective treatment plans, especially during the global Covid-19 pandemic
- Further harm patients with chronic disease who are already facing unprecedented challenges
CCPA and the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute are leading a sign on group letter urging Congress to pass legislation that would delay the implementation of this rule to at least 2022 and reinstate the limitations on copay accumulators included in the 2020 NBPP. This will ensure co-pay assistance counts for brand name drugs that do not have a generic alternative.
We urge all advocacy and patient groups to evaluate this policy change and join us in our efforts to protect cost-sharing assistance to ensure patients have affordable access to the medications they rely on.
For more information, please contact Liz Helms at lizh@chroniccarealliance.org.