AHA comments on recent MedPAC policy discussions

AHA yesterday commented on recent Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussions on possible approaches to reducing spending on Part B drugs and biologicals, improving alternative payment models, and revising the hospital wage index. The letter raises concerns with approaches that would shift responsibility for surging drug prices from drug manufacturers to hospitals and patients. Instead, it supports a cap on average sales price inflation that requires drug manufacturers to pay rebates to the federal government when ASP growth exceeds an inflation benchmark, and encourages the commission to further evaluate a payment model that implements mandatory additional rebates to purchasers when the manufacturer’s price increase for a Part B drug exceeds inflation. The letter also raises concerns with possible approaches that would use non-hospital data to calculate the wage index. In addition, AHA voiced support for exploring how a multi-track APM could “provide a glide path to risk for all potential participants” to ensure “a balance between incentivizing participation in models and securing cost savings and high-quality care for patients.”