CMS has released its “Draft Methodology for Calculating the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost,” which may be used as a reference price for states to consider when setting their Medicaid drug reimbursement methodology. Among other things, the draft methodology indicates that CMS plans monthly surveys of chain and independent – but not specialty – pharmacies, and that NADACs will be reviewed and updated both weekly and monthly. CMS also proposes a “quality assurance” process to remove survey response “costs that do not fall within a reasonable range,” which appears to give CMS’s contractor (Myers and Stauffer LC) wide latitude to disregard survey responses. Comments will be accepted until June 21, 2012.