HHS has removed seven drugs from its initial list of 27 drugs subject to inflation rebates.
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government can levy fines against drug manufacturers who raise the cost of drugs covered by Medicare Part B higher than the rate of inflation.
Some Medicare members will see lower coinsurance costs for drugs subject to inflation rebates, according to CMS.
CMS published the first list of drugs subject to the penalty March 15. On March 30, the agency removed seven drugs from the list, including:
- Elzonris (Stemline Therapeutics)
- Fetroja (Shionogi & Co.)
- Folotyn (Allos Therapeutics)
- Tecartus (Kite Pharma)
- Winrho SDF (Cangene)
- Xipere (Clearside Biomedical)
- Yescarta (Kite Pharma)
In a statement shared with Becker's, a CMS spokesperson said the agency's standard procedure is to publish average sale price files several weeks before the quarter in which they take effect so the public can review them, and correct files as needed.
"Last week, CMS issued a restatement correcting the calculation of the coinsurance adjustment percentage for Part B rebatable drugs," the spokesperson said. "We have updated the files and supplemental materials to reflect the accurate calculations and updated the list of now 20 drugs for which reduced coinsurance applies."
CMS expects some Medicare members to save between $1 and $372 per average dose of their prescriptions for the 20 drugs on the list.
"CMS is committed to transparency in implementing the Inflation Reduction Act and will continue working tirelessly to ensure timely, accurate implementation," the agency said.