President Biden Expected to Sign Inflation Reduction Act Today, Which Includes Provisions to Lower Medicare Drug Prices
(HealthcareDive)
The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed the U.S. House Friday on party lines in a 220-207 vote, now heads to President Joe Biden's desk.
The Act extends enhanced ACA subsidies originally granted by the American Rescue Plan into 2025, protecting millions of Americans from an anticipated premium hike at the end of the year.
It also allows Medicare to start negotiating the price of some prescription drug prices beginning in 2026 and caps Medicare Part-D out-of-pocket costs in 2025. In a move to further reduce drug prices, the bill also imposes penalizing rebates on pharmaceutical manufacturers who hike drug costs above the rate of inflation starting in 2023.
Although Senate Republicans removed a provision that would instill a $35 cap on insulin for Americans with private insurance, the bill includes a $35 cap on insulin for patients with Medicare.
Annual Essential Community Provider (ECP) Petitions Submission
Deadline tomorrow, 8/17, for inclusion in the final Plan Year 2024 ECP List
Petition Form
The Essential Community Provider petition submission is an annual process that works prospectively. HHS updates this ECP list annually to assist issuers with identifying providers that qualify for inclusion in an issuer's plan network toward satisfaction of the ECP standard under 45 CFR 156.235.
Per CMS, “For ongoing provider updates, the ECP petition process remains open year-round. Provider petitions submitted between August 19, 2021, and August 17, 2022, will be reviewed for inclusion on the final Plan Year 2024 ECP List. Provider petitions submitted after August 17, 2022, will be reviewed for inclusion on the final Plan Year 2025 ECP List.
Click here to download a detailed memo with important reminders and instructions.
Click here to visit the CMS website to view all sites currently associated with your organization and submit a petition for each of your facilities. All FQHCs should submit a petition for each of their facilities even if they do not see errors or omissions that require correction.
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