Weekly Policy Update: President Biden Signs New Drug Pricing Executive Order
By: Colorado BioScience Association Date: 10/21/2022
President Biden signed an Executive Order on Friday, October 14th directing Health and Human Services (HHS) to explore additional actions to lower prescription drug costs. This order is on top of several drug-pricing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act.
CBSA and our national partners oppose government price controls on prescription drugs. We lobbied against the price setting provisions in Medicare, which could chill investment in next-generation treatments and cures for patients in need.
What is the Executive Order?
According to the White House Communications Team, the Executive Order “includes leveraging the Innovation Center at HHS, which has authority to test new ways of paying for Medicare services.”
Under the Executive Order, HHS has 90 days to submit a formal report outlining plans to lower drug costs and promote access to innovative drug therapies for Medicare beneficiaries using the Innovation Center’s authority. According to the Biden Administration, this action would, “build on the Inflation Reduction Act’s landmark drug pricing reforms and help provide additional breathing room for American families.”
CBSA Engagement
CBSA will collaborate with our national partners as their teams evaluate the Executive Order’s implications on our industry. CBSA is committed to advancing policies that increase affordability for patients while supporting a pro-innovation environment for life sciences in Colorado.
More details on the Executive Order
Read the full statement released by the White House and the Executive Order.
ACT TODAY to Support the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are currently working to develop a new rule that could provide Medicare patients faster access to innovative, lifesaving, and life-enhancing medical devices and diagnostics. This CMS initiative is called the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) rule. It would modernize Medicare for patients and create an alternative, expedited pathway to provide coverage and payment for emerging devices and diagnostics. Transitional coverage for these technologies would give Medicare patients more healthcare options and would support health innovators here in Colorado and across the U.S.
CBSA urges CMS to adopt this rule. It balances access to innovative technologies with patient protection, while also guaranteeing coverage is flexible, predictable, and evidence based. Join our national partner MDMA in voicing our support for CMS to adopt this rule.
Act TODAY! Please write a letter to your members of Congress using the MDMA email tool. We need your voice and engagement to ask Congress to accelerate access to innovative medical devices by improving coverage policies at CMS.