Legislation Would Expand Medicaid Access to Novel Therapies
Alexandria, Va., May 8, 2025 ― AMCP (Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy) applauds the introduction of the Medicaid VBPs for Patients (MVP) Act of 2025 (S. 1637) by Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Tim Scott (R-SC). This bipartisan legislation will improve patient access to novel therapies by enhancing the use of value-based purchasing arrangements in Medicaid.
“The MVP Act would help bridge an access gap, bringing new, high-cost therapies, such as cell and gene therapies, to more vulnerable patients who need them– while also protecting Medicaid programs’ budgets,” said Susan Cantrell, MHL, RPh, CAE. “This bill presents a commonsense solution to lawmakers seeking to make government programs more efficient while still ensuring they deliver a strong positive benefit to patients they serve. We eagerly anticipate introduction in the House of Representatives, and I urge Congress to pass the MVP Act to help deliver these vital treatments to America’s most vulnerable populations.”
The MVP Act of 2025 will, among other things:
Value-based purchasing arrangements, often called outcomes-based arrangements, enable manufacturers to share risk with payers by tying payments to patient outcomes. Innovative contracts allow payers to recoup some or all of the price of a treatment if it fails, or spread payments over time to reduce budgetary pressure. Value-based payment arrangements are critical tools for ensuring patient access to high-cost treatments, such as cell and gene therapies, which have highly variable outcomes between patients. State Medicaid programs often exclude or restrict coverage due to their high upfront cost under fee-for-service billing and questions about the treatment’s real-world effectiveness. AMCP strongly supports this legislation and urges Congress to pass the MVP Act to ensure Medicaid programs and their patients can access lifesaving therapies at an affordable cost.
The current version of the bill is identical to language from the 118th Congress, apart from new implementation dates.
Take action to urge Congress to pass the MVP Act. For more information on AMCP’s support of this legislation, please view our Legislative & Regulatory Issues page.
About AMCP
AMCP is the professional association leading the way to help patients get the medications they need at a cost they can afford. AMCP’s diverse membership of pharmacists, physicians, nurses, biopharmaceutical professionals, and other stakeholders leverage their specialized expertise in clinical evidence and economics to optimize medication benefit design and population health management and help patients access cost-effective and safe medications and other drug therapies. AMCP members improve the lives of nearly 300 million Americans served by private and public health plans, pharmacy benefit management firms, and emerging care models. Visit www.amcp.org.
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