CONGRESSMEN GRAY, MURPHY, DUNN INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO PROTECT PATIENT ACCESS TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Adam Gray (D-Merced), joined by Congressmen Greg Murphy, MD, (R-NC) and Neal Dunn (R-FL), has introduced the bipartisan Protecting Patient Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act. The legislation would fix existing physician reimbursement policy to ensure fair payment for health care providers and secure commercial access to prescription drugs for patients.
"As the Central Valley continues to face physician shortages, it’s critical to support our rural health providers," said Congressman Gray. "By ensuring our providers will be fairly reimbursed for prescription medications, we will protect rural health centers and those who keep our communities healthy. This bipartisan, commonsense bill will fix existing legislation to preserve provider reimbursement levels and maintain commercial access to prescription drugs for Valley families."
"Part B drug reimbursements to physicians will be crushed by unintended consequences of the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and patient access to life-saving drugs will dry up," said Congressman Murphy, M.D. "The short-sighted reimbursement formula established by the IRA for Medicare payments to physicians will be devastating, particularly for oncology providers and patients. This legislation provides a much-needed fix to ensure that physicians are available to patients to administer the critical drugs they need."
"Ensuring that our providers are fairly reimbursed for prescription drugs will improve patient outcomes and protect rural health centers in Northwest Florida and across the country," said Congressman Dunn. "I’m proud to support this commonsense reform that addresses changing market dynamics to support patients and providers alike."
"This Protecting Patients Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act will ensure that cancer patients and those with complex illnesses maintain access to their physician-administered drugs," said Dr. Scott Sellinger, President of LUGPA. "Without this bipartisan legislation, LUGPA doctors and the cancer patients we serve could have been collateral damage in policies designed to reduce drug prices."
"IPA applauds Congressmen Greg Murphy, Adam Gray and Neal Dunn for reintroducing the ‘Protecting Patient Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act’ and their ongoing bipartisan leadership on this important issue," said Doug Ghertner, President, Infusion Providers Alliance. "This critical legislation will ensure that patients with complex illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, arthritis and many orphan conditions, maintain access to their infused or injected medications to treat those conditions in IPA members convenient, community based, non-hospital settings. This legislation addresses an unintended consequence of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will significantly reduce physician reimbursement in the effort to lower drug prices. By protecting physician practices and infusion providers from steep cuts to their reimbursement for the administration of infusion drugs, Congress can ensure that it achieves its desired level of cost savings without compromising patient access."
"As a physician, Congressman Murphy well understands the numerous pressures that independent medical practices face in keeping their doors open to treating patients," said Ted Okon, Executive Director, Community Oncology Alliance. "We applaud his leadership, along with Congressman Gray and Congressman Dunn, in introducing the Protecting Patient Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act. This technical fix to the Inflation Reduction Act will alleviate yet another reimbursement cut and administrative burden that threatens seniors’ access to high-quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care and treatments for other serious diseases."
Under current law passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Medicare reimbursement levels for certain Part B drugs are determined at the Maximum Fair Price (MFP) plus six percent. The Protecting Patient Access to Cancer and Complex Therapies Act would revert the reimbursement rate to the Average Sales Price (ASP) plus six percent, create an additional rebate paid by manufacturers, and hold patients harmless by basing coinsurance rates off the Maximum Fair Price (MFP). The Central Valley is experiencing one of the worst physician shortages in California, with nearly 25% fewer physicians in the region than the state average.
Read the full text of the bill here.
###