On January 27, 2015, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released its “21st Century Cures Act” discussion draft, the product of a year-long, bipartisan effort by the Committee to accelerate the pace of medical cures in the United States. The nearly 400-page bill addresses a wide range of topics, including, among many other things: the
Drugs
Electronic Distribution of Prescribing Information for Prescription Drugs & Biologicals
The FDA published a proposed rule on December 18, 2014 that would require electronic distribution of the prescribing information intended for health care professionals, which is currently distributed in paper form on or within the prescription drug or biological product packaging. FDA also is proposing that prescribing information intended for health care professionals will no…
CMS Posts January 2015 Update to Medicare Part B Drug Pricing Files
CMS has posted the January 2015 update to the Medicare average sales price (ASP) drug pricing files, which contain the payment amounts that CMS will use to pay for Part B covered drugs for the first quarter of 2015. CMS notes that prices for the top Part B drugs decreased by 0.1 % on…
OIG: Compendia Publishers Comply with Transparency Rules for Evaluating Anticancer Drugs, Identifying Potential Conflicts
Under current law, Medicare Parts B and D cover anticancer drugs for indications not approved by the FDA only if the drugs are supported by one or more of four authorized compendia. Publishers of these compendia must comply with statutory requirements to maintain transparent processes for evaluating anticancer drug therapies and identifying potential conflicts of…
FDA Revises Guidance Defining Delays, Denials, Limits and Refusals of a Drug Inspection
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a notice announcing the Agency’s revised guidance for industry defining the types of action, inaction, and circumstances that FDA considers to constitute delaying, denying, or limiting inspection, or refusing to permit entry or inspection for the purposes of making a drug adulterated.
The revised guidance clarifies FDA’s expectations regarding the types of action, inaction, and circumstances that make a drug adulterated under FDASIA and the FD&C Act. FDA also provides examples that constitute reasonable explanations for actions, inactions, or circumstances that could otherwise be considered delaying, denying or limiting inspection, or refusing to permit entry or inspection.
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Update on Sunshine Act “Open Payments” Public Data Review and Data Correction Deadline
CMS has released a beta version of its Open Payments search tool, which is intended to facilitate public review of payments and transfers of value made by drug and device manufacturers and group purchasing organization (GPOs) to physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as physician ownership information. The tool allows the public to search…
HHS OIG Paints with Broad Brush in Criticizing Drug Manufacturer Coupon Programs
On September 19, 2014, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health & Human Services issued a Special Advisory Bulletin (SAB) in which it identified several potential regulatory risks to federal health care programs as the result of coupon programs used by drug manufacturers to reduce or eliminate patient copayments for brand-name drugs. In the SAB, the OIG explains that coupon program sponsors and pharmacies will risk the receipt of penalties if they do not take steps to actively prevent federal health care program beneficiaries from using the coupons. According to the OIG, these coupon programs qualify as examples of remuneration offered to consumers to encourage the purchase and use of specific items, and therefore implicate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. In addition, a claim that includes items or services resulting from such a kickback violation would constitute a false or fraudulent claim under the False Claims Act.
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CMS Updates Medicare Part B Drug Pricing Files
CMS has posted its October 2014 update to the Medicare average sales price (ASP) drug pricing files, which contain the payment amounts that CMS will use to pay for Part B covered drugs for the fourth quarter of 2014. CMS notes that prices for the top Part B drugs decreased by 0.4% on average…
GAO Highlights Differences in Federal Program Drug Prices
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released data comparing retail prescription drug prices paid by the Department of Defense (DOD), Medicaid, and Medicare Part D for a sample of 78 high-utilization/high-expenditure drugs. In general, the GAO determined that Medicaid paid the lowest average net prices for both brand-name and generic drugs in the sample based…
FDA Meeting on Biomarker Development (Sept. 5)
On September 5, 2014, the FDA is holding a public meeting at the Washington Plaza Hotel, in Washington DC, to discuss current scientific and regulatory approaches to biomarker development, acceptance, and utility in the development of therapeutic products (e.g., drugs and biologics). Specifically, FDA will focus on (1) identifying challenges for biomarker applications in early-…
FDA Releases Drug/Device Industry Social Media Guidance Documents
The FDA released two draft social media guidance documents last week, describing how manufacturers, packers and distributors of prescription drugs and medical devices may: (1) communicate both benefit and risk information on Internet/social media platforms with character space limitations, and (2) correct independent third-party misinformation about a firm’s products. For details, see Reed Smith’s Client…
OIG Finds Drug Manufacturers’ Medicaid AMP Determinations Follow Federal Rules
In a recent report, “Average Manufacturer Price Determinations by Selected Drug Manufacturers Generally Were Consistent With Federal Requirements,” the OIG has determined that the methodologies used by 20 selected (unnamed) drug manufacturers to determine average manufacturer price (AMP) for drugs reimbursed by Medicaid generally were consistent with federal requirements. In particular, the manufacturers consistently included…
Full Energy and Commerce Committee Approves Three Bipartisan Health Bills
On June 10, 2014, the full House Energy and Commerce Committee approved by voice vote three bipartisan public health bills:
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OIG Issues Advisory Bulletin Impacting Independent Charity Patient Assistance Programs
On May 21, 2014, the OIG issued its “Supplemental Special Advisory Bulletin: Independent Charity Patient Assistance Programs” (SSAB) to address recently observed risks stemming from the conduct of Independent Charity Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs). The SSAB, which expands on previous OIG guidance from 2002 and 2005, specifically focuses on PAPs’ definitions of disease funds and…
CMS Finalizes ACA Exchange, Insurance Market Standards for 2015 and Beyond
On May 27, 2014, CMS published a final rule updating ACA Affordable Insurance Exchange and insurance market standards beginning in 2015. Among other things, the rule addresses standards related to: standardized consumer notices regarding insurance product discontinuation and renewal; Qualified Health Plan (QHP) quality data reporting to support quality ratings for plans on the…
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Approves Health Bills
On May 28, 2014 the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health approved by voice vote three bipartisan public health bills:
- H.R. 4299, “Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act,” which is intended to improve the Drug Enforcement Agency scheduling process for new FDA-approved drugs under the Controlled Substances Act and the registration process
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Expedited Drug Development and Review: New FDA Resource Now Available
A new guidance entitled “Expedited Programs for Serious Conditions – Drugs and Biologics” is now available from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The 40-page guidance is intended to serve as a single resource for information on FDA’s policies and procedures related to its four expedited drug development and review programs: (1) fast…
OIG Examines Medicare Part B Payments for Compounded Drugs
The HHS OIG has examined Medicare Part B payments for compounded drugs and Medicare Administrative Contractors’ (MAC) procedures for reviewing and processing claims for compounded drugs, in light of safety concerns involving a 2012 meningitis outbreak and increased scrutiny of compounded drugs. According to the OIG, neither CMS nor MACs tracked the number of Part…
CMS Invites Comments on Sunshine Act “Open Payments” Dispute Resolution/Corrections Process
CMS is inviting comments on the Physician Payment Sunshine Act “Open Payments Program” dispute resolution and corrections process. As previously reported, the Physician Payment Sunshine Act requires pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to register with and submit to CMS data on their financial relationships with physicians and teaching…
HRSA Releases 340B Audit Results
On May 9, 2014, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released the results of its FY 2012 audits of covered entity compliance with 340B drug discount program rules. Based on a review of 51 covered entities encompassing more than 410 outpatient facilities/sub-grantees and more than 860 contract pharmacy locations, HRSA identified “several recurring critical…