The OIG has issued a report examining Medicare Part D payments for “terminated drugs” – drugs that are discontinued, have passed their shelf life, or have been pulled from the market for health or safety reasons. According to the OIG, in 2006 and 2007, CMS accepted Medicare Part D sponsors’ prescription drug event (PDE) data totaling $112.1 million associated with 2,967 terminated drugs. The OIG recommended that CMS issue regulations to prohibit Medicare Part D coverage of terminated drugs and, in the interim, publish a list of these drugs on its web site. CMS did not concur with the findings or recommendation. Among other things, CMS disagreed that terminated drugs were actually dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries, and the agency asserted that the only authoritative source of data on product expiration dates at the national drug code level is information officially submitted by manufacturers to FDA. CMS concluded that a new regulatory requirement without more complete information from FDA would not solve the problem. The OIG disagreed and maintains its recommendation.