May 17 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has delayed implementation of its proposal to cut drug prices for Medicare patients.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said Thursday it won't be implementing its lowest pharmacy price proposal for 2020. Health plans will not have the authority to negotiate pricing for certain protected classes of drugs and will not require pharmacies to make sure Medicare patients get the lowest price on prescription drugs.
The proposal got more than 4,000 comments on its website.
"The CMS is continuing to carefully review these comments as we continue to consider policies that would lower prescription drug costs, address challenges that independent pharmacies face, and improve the quality of pharmacy care," the agency said.
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Critics said the Trump administration's proposal would have allowed insurers to exclude drugs if the price rises faster than inflation.
CMS administrator Seema Verma said the overwhelming feedback influenced the decision to delay the proposal.
She said the administration "remains concerned that prescription drug companies are offering seniors in Medicare substantially smaller discounts for protected class drugs than are offered in the commercial market."
The current policy requires private Medicare health plans to cover all or "substantially all" drugs in six "protected classes, including HIV treatments, antidepressants, drugs to prevent blood clots and cancer drugs."
Also, private Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans will not be allowed to negotiate prices on protected drugs. In the comments, doctors and patient groups were concerned that this would lead to some drugs being excluded from the protected classes, limiting their availability and affordability.
These private Medicare plans will require patients to try cheaper drugs before turning to the more expensive ones regardless of what the doctor prescribes.
