Briefs and Analysis

Thursday, December 19, 2019 – Yesterday, the Trump administration released two proposals to lower pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. Collectively, the proposals would effectuate the drug importation action plan released in July. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said the importation proposals “are a historic step forward in an effort to

Brief: CMS announces new proposed rule targeting fiscal integrity of Medicaid  On November 12, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice of proposed rule-making requiring that states share provider-level information about their supplemental payment and financing agreements under Medicaid. The rule, entitled the “Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (MFAR),” has three core

THS analysis: ACO enrollment declines for the first time in seven years On Wednesday, July 17, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma published a blog in Health Affairs announcing that just 66 ACOs joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) for the July 1 start date – less than half the

THS analysis: Trump administration nixes drug rebate proposal On Thursday, the Trump administration withdrew a drug rebate proposal that would have required pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to pass along rebate savings to consumers rather than keeping them as a profit for themselves. The plan, announced on January 31, 2019, had three main goals: Address rebates

THS Analysis: Advancing American Kidney Health program On Wednesday, July 10 President Trump signed an executive order creating the Advancing American Kidney Health program. The order seeks to reduce the number of Americans developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by 25 percent by 2030 and have 80 percent of new ESRD patients either receiving dialysis at

On Wednesday, HHS and the FDA released a plan to lay the foundation to import certain low-cost drugs from Canada. Insulin, biological drugs, controlled substances, and intravenous drugs would not be included. According to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, who alluded to working on a proposal with President Trump just a day earlier, the plan represents

THS Brief: CMMI Primary Care Initiative Press release here; fact sheet here HHS and CMS have launched a set of new payment models, dubbed the Primary Cares Initiative, that aim to transform primary care through value-based options. The new models will also test financial risk and performance-based payments for primary care practitioners and clinicians.   The initiative,