CMS head says insurers, PBMs can assume Medicare rebates in 2020: Axios

Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, said in a memo that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers can assume drug-pricing rebates in Medicare Part D will still exist as they design their 2020 plans, reported Axios’ Bob Herman. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating such Medicare rebates beginning in 2020, the report noted. Pharmacy benefit managers include Express Scripts (ESRX), CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth (UNH). Drug distributors include AmerisourceBergen (ABC), Cardinal Health (CAH) and McKesson (MCK). Publicly traded drugmakers include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol-Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY). Publicly traded health insurers include Anthem (ANTM), Centene (CNC), Cigna (CI), Health Net (HNT), Humana (HUM), Molina Healthcare (MOH), UnitedHealth (UNH) and WellCare (WCG).

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