Letters, Statements & Analysis

On June 13, AMCP joined 24 patient and provider organizations in applauding the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling reversing the Fifth Circuit's decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al. v FDA et al. AMCP and the undersigned organizations unequivocally support FDA's role in safeguarding patients, which has yielded approval of tens of thousands of crucial medications and devices for generations of Americans.

On May 29, AMCP released the following statement, which expresses concerns about the Illinois General Assembly's Healthcare protection Act (HB 5395). Passed on May 25, the bill restricts managed care pharmacists' ability to manage prescription drug benefits for millions of Illinoisans covered under the state’s Medicaid program, state employee group insurance, and fully insured commercial plans.

On Feb. 29, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued The Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Programs: Part C and Part D Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Model Documents. AMCP submitted comments in response to this Model Documents on April 29, 2024.

On Feb. 15, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: Draft Part Two Guidance and a Fact Sheet to provide guidance on education and outreach requirements for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (M3P), which was established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). AMCP submitted comments in response to this Guidance on March 15, 2024.

On Feb. 15, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: Draft Part Two Guidance and a Fact Sheet to provide guidance on education and outreach requirements for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (M3P), which was established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). AMCP submitted comments in response to this Guidance on March 15, 2024.

In a March 5, 2024 press release, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) expressed intent to issue guidance to encourage Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plans to relax or remove prior authorization requirements and other utilization management strategies. On March 6, 2024, CMS issued a memo encouraging MA and Part D plans to relax or remove prior authorization requirements in response to the Change Healthcare cyberatack. AMCP sent a letter in response to this guidance on March 8, 2024.

On January 31, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule titled “Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2025”. Each year, CMS is required to update MA payment rates and regularly conducts technical updates through the Advance Notice and Rate Announcement process. AMCP submitted comments in response to this rule on March 1, 2024.