I'm in AZ. The story said the new rules, that would take effect Jan 1, were going to be adopted that Tuesday. I cannot find a story, or something from a government website that confirms it was in fact adopted.
I consider that, "We're twisting in the wind." I don't know if that's going to happen on 1/1 or not.
@Cyber LibertyHERE IT IS:
"CMS has finalized its rule for 2019 rates for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D, giving insurers a bigger-than-expected rate increase while finalizing proposals on expanded supplemental benefits and efforts aimed at fighting opioid addiction.
Here are five major pieces of the finalized regulation:
1. Drug pricing,
opioid provisions finalizedCMS touted the rule as “saving Medicare beneficiaries on prescription drugs†with many of its provisions. Among them is allowing generic drugs to be added to formularies during any point of the year, rather than Part D plans having to wait until the next plan year to take advantage of lower-cost pharmaceutical options.
“The steps we are taking will drive more competition among plans and pharmacies to meet the needs of seniors and lower costs,†CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, told reporters on an April 2 conference call.
Opioid restrictions are also a major feature of the final rule. CMS finalized several policies targeted at preventing and combating the abuse or overuse of prescription opioids, including “expecting†all Part D sponsors to limit initial opioid prescriptions for treatment of acute pain to seven days or less. For so-called “high risk†opioid users, the rule says the existing CMS Overutilization Monitoring System (OMS) will be integrated into drug management programs so prescribers and pharmacies can limit these beneficiaries’ access to frequently abused drugs.
Certain patients will be exempt from these requirements, such as those being treated for cancer-related pain, receiving end-of-life care or are in hospice or long-term care facilities.
