From Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, May 17: CMS has sent a letter to companies that provide Medicare prescription drug coverage in Part D explaining that so-called “gag clauses” are unacceptable, as part of the Administration-wide “American Patients First” initiative to lower prescription drug costs.
In Part D, Medicare pays prescription drug plans to cover medicines, which beneficiaries buy at a pharmacy. Gag clauses are provisions in contracts that insurance plans and their pharmacy benefit managers enter into with pharmacies. These clauses prevent pharmacists from telling patients when they could pay less for a drug by paying cash, instead of billing their insurance and paying the required copay or deductible.
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