Impact of Proposed Rule to Eliminate Prescription Drug Rebates on Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries

On January 31, 2019 the Administration proposed a rule to amend the federal anti-kickback statute, which would transition toward a system of point-of-sale reductions in price on prescription pharmaceuticals, beginning in 2020. The proposed changes reflect the Administration’s focus on reducing patient out-of-pocket (OOP) costs and addressing certain potentially anticompetitive aspects of the current manufacturer rebating system. Yet, these changes would likely have the consequence of increasing beneficiary premiums and reducing benefit offerings by Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans.