NCCS Submits Comments to CMS on its Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Guidance

NCCS submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the second part of its draft guidance for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP). The MPPP was created by the Inflation Reduction Act and allows Medicare beneficiaries to spread the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare Part D over the year, rather than paying all costs up front early in the year. The program goes into effect in 2025 and has the potential to help Medicare beneficiaries with high out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs.

NCCS commends CMS for its work in developing outreach, education, and communication requirements related to the MPPP for Part D sponsors. In general, we think that CMS has done a solid job in developing requirements for Part D plan sponsors, including the requirement to identify Part D enrollees likely to benefit during the plan year.

NCCS shared data from our 2023 State of Survivorship Survey, in which we asked patients about their interest in a monthly payment program for prescription drugs. Only 32% of the patients in the nationally representative cohort said they are interested in such a program, and that number drops to 24% of Medicare beneficiaries surveyed. Among the NCCS Connected patients, 42% are interested in a payment program, with that number dropping to 31% of connected patients who are Medicare beneficiaries. We believe that the findings represent limited awareness of the program overall. These findings suggest to us that advocacy organizations like NCCS and provider organizations representing cancer care professionals can play an important role in outreach and education of potential plan enrollees.

Read the letter below or download here.