Steve Postal, NCPA's senior director of policy and regulatory affairs, advocated for community pharmacy in CMS' January Pharmacy Call on the Draft Medicare Transaction Facilitator Agreements (the Dispensing Entity-CMS Agreement and Dispensing Entity-MTF Data Module Contractor Agreement, which we will refer to collectively as "the agreements") that are part of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation (MDPN) Program of the Inflation Reduction Act. Unfortunately, CMS will not be making the recording of the call publicly available.
Postal stressed that while NCPA's members are free to participate in these agreements and the MDPN and that NCPA has no intention or means to punish any pharmacist/pharmacy for enrolling, NCPA will be advising them not to sign up to either given that they do not adequately protect community pharmacy.
Postal stressed that the agreements were not fair to pharmacies given that, among other things, CMS is proposing that pharmacies are required to join them as a condition for participation in Medicare Part D generally; that CMS is disclaiming all warrantees and protections to pharmacies; that the audit and notice requirements for termination are overly burdensome on pharmacies; and that CMS can unilaterally modify these contracts. In response, CMS stated that it is trying its best within its authority to protect pharmacies, and that it looks forward to reading NCPA's comments.
NCPA will be commenting on CMS's draft agreements, and comments to CMS are due on Jan. 31. For NCPA talking points on the MDPN, see here.
