NACDS Expresses Appreciation for CMS' Announcement on AMP-based FULs

PRESS RELEASE

June 2, 2014, Arlington, Va. — National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE released the statement below following the announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that there will be sufficient time to implement the Medicaid average manufacturer price (AMP)-based federal upper limits (FULs) for prescription medications. The FULs were expected to be finalized in July 2014.

“We are pleased that leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have acted on the urging of state officials, federal legislators and pharmacy patient care advocates, and announced the new timing. To ensure Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to pharmacy services, states need to update reimbursement for both the cost of dispensing and ingredients.

“NACDS also appreciates members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who requested an adequate transition period so that states have the opportunity to make an effective transition.

“In its announcement, CMS cited that ‘further detailed guidance would be provided for states to implement the Affordable Care Act FULs, and we remain committed to ensuring that this guidance is provided to states with sufficient time to implement the FULs.’

“We look forward to learning more from CMS about this guidance and working together to create a reasonable transition period to help states fully implement FULs that create a fair and accurate reimbursement structure, and for the good of Medicaid beneficiaries.”

The full text of CMS’ announcement can be found here:

This is to notify states and stakeholders that we will not be finalizing the Affordable Care Act Federal Upper Limits (FULs) in July 2014, as we previously announced in the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) Informational Bulletin issued on November 27, 2013.

In the November 2013 Informational Bulletin, we stated that further detailed guidance would be provided for states to implement the Affordable Care Act FULs, and we remain committed to ensuring that this guidance is provided to states with sufficient time to implement the FULs. We expect to provide a new finalization date for the FULs when we release this subsequent guidance to states. We will continue to analyze the draft monthly Affordable Care Act FUL data, including the relationship of these FULs to the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost pricing, as we continue to work to implement the FUL provisions of section 1927(e)(4) of the Social Security Act. We will also continue to post the draft monthly Affordable Care Act FUL files on Medicaid.gov.

For more information on the Affordable Care Act FULs, please visit http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Benefits/Prescription-Drugs/Federal-Upper-Limits.html