Policies to Prevent Pharmaceutical Waste: Initial Prescription Limitations and Pro-rating Co-pays

Policies to Prevent Pharmaceutical Waste: Initial Prescription Limitations and

Pro-rating Co-pays

Product Stewardship Institute, Inc.May 17, 2012

• Unused Medications: Just How Much Are We Throwing Away?– Wednesday, May 23 - 1:00-2:00 PM EST

• Policies to Prevent Pharmaceutical Waste: Looking at Sample Waste– Monday , June 4th 1-2 PM EST

• For more information and access to the recordings, please see the Product Stewardship Institute website at:

www.productstewardship.us/networkingcalls

Upcoming Webinars

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http://www.productstewardship.us/networkingcalls

Who is the Product Stewardship Institute?

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Global Product Stewardship CouncilPSI represented on Board of Directors

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How to Participate Today

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Overview of Today’s Webinar

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• Examining policies to reduce the amount of waste pharmaceuticals generated each year

• One large source of unused pharmaceuticals: initial prescriptions

• Jennifer Palow, Acting MIHMS Project Manager, Director of Operations, Office of MaineCare Services

• Lisa Vanston Thorpe, Esq., U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Drug Benefit and Part C & D Data Group Division of Drug Plan Policy and Quality

Expert Panelists

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MaineCare Policies to Prevent Pharmaceutical Waste

Jennifer PalowPharmacy Director

Curbing wasteControlling cost

Pharmacies in Maine were once allowed to give an early refill for prescriptions at their discretion. We found that pharmacies used this to bypass some PA requirements. In 2005, the Maine pharmacy program eliminated this override process.

In 2006 the Department added policy that discontinued advanced refills for vacationers and denied request to replace lost medications.

In the summer of 2009, MaineCare introduced a fifteen day initial prescription supply limit. MaineCare staff and associates began developing the program for

various medications that have been identified with high side effect profiles, high discontinuation rates, or frequent dose adjustments to ensure cost effectiveness

without “wasting” or “discarding” of used medications.

In the first year the Department saw a savings of nearly $500,000.

The department periodically reviews the list of drugs in the 15 day initial

script program. We are careful not to add medications that would cost the

Department to dispense twice.

Challenges during implementation included the additional work for providers. We allowed the provider to write one script for the full month and the pharmacy to only dispense for 15 days at a time. Additional challenges included making sure this program remained cost effective and actually produced savings.

The drug classes included are typically those that would have side effects, a high discontinuation rate or dose changes. The list of drugs can be found on the website – www.mainecarepdl.org

http://www.mainecarepdl.org/

The most recent change in policy for waste control is reducing mail

order from refill tolerance allowed at 85% to anything prescribed over 60 days to be a 90% RTA.

During an audit in 2010 the Department found that mail

order patients receiving 90 day fills were receiving an extra month of drugs annually.

State wide efforts to clean up wasted medications include take back days,

drop off sites at participating pharmacies and police stations and in some areas the TRIAD will pick up

unused medications.

Questions?

INFORMATION NOT RELEASABLE TO THE PUBLIC UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY LAW:This information has not been publicly disclosed and may be privileged and confidential. It is for internal government use only and must not be disseminated, distributed, or copied to persons not authorized to receive the information. Unauthorized disclosure may result in prosecution to the full extent of the law.

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Product Stewardship Webinar:

“Policies to Prevent Pharmaceutical Waste: Initial Prescription Limitations

and Pro-rating Co-pays"

Thursday, May 17, 2012 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT


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Daily Cost-Sharing Rate Requirement on Medicare Part D Sponsors

Lisa V. ThorpeDivision of Drug Plan Policy & Quality

CMS


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Establishment and Application of Daily Cost-Sharing Rate

• CMS-4157-FC, Medicare Parts C and D Final Rule with Comment for Contract Year 2013 published on April 12, 2012. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-12/pdf/2012-8071.pdf

• Daily Cost-Sharing Requirement (DCR) applicable for Contract Year (CY) 2014, although Part D sponsors may voluntarily implement for Contract Year 2013.

• DCR is found in “Improving Program Efficiencies” section of the Final Rule on page 22126.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-12/pdf/2012-8071.pdf


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Establishment and Application of Daily Cost-Sharing Rate, Con’t.

• Beginning January 1, 2014, Medicare Part D sponsors must apply a DCR to all prescriptions for less than a month’s supply (unless an exception applies due to the type of drug involved), and in the case of a monthly copayment, multiply it by the days supply actually dispensed.

• DCR requirement will be a feature of cost-effective utilization management and fraud, abuse and waste control programs that Part D sponsors must have in place.


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Establishment and Application of Daily Cost-Sharing Rate Con’t.

• Taking advantage of the DCR requirement will be voluntary for the beneficiary in consultation with the prescriber or pharmacist.

• Financially incentivizes beneficiaries to ask their prescribers for less than a month’s supply, such as when prescribed an initial fill of a chronic medication with higher cost-sharing (e.g., a “trial fill”).

• Prescribers most likely to agree to write for trial fill when involving a drug that has significant side effects and/or is poorly tolerated.


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• Estimate of the potential savings to the Part D program are $150 million in 2013/$1.8 billion total by 2018.

• Estimate takes into account additional dispensing fees, how many beneficiaries will request trial fills, average days supply and sponsor programming costs.


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• Additional benefits of DCR requirement will be:

1) facilitating the synchronization of prescriptions for beneficiaries, as well as

2) the reduction of unused drugs which will assist in diminishing the environmental issues caused by the disposal of unused medications and opportunities for criminal activities and substance abuse caused by diversion of unused medications.


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Comments received on proposed rule:

• Supportive of goal to reduce cost and waste in Part D program.

• Operational concerns: claim edits, duplicate prescription drug event records (PDEs), coordination of benefits (COB).

• Pharmacies splitting prescriptions for additional dispensing fees.

• Lessons to be learned from long-term care (LTC) short-cycle dispensing requirement effective January 1, 2013.


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CMS response to comments:

• Proper programming will be essential to addressing technical issues raised and lessons may be learned from implementation of new LTC dispensing requirement in CY 2013; therefore, applicability of DCR delayed for one year until CY 2014.

• CMS will publish guidance as needed to address technical questions.


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• Sponsors will be expected to implement contractual terms and auditing and other internal controls to detect and prevent fraud, waste and abuse.

• Industry encouraged to develop appropriate coding so pharmacies may communicate the reason for dispensing less than a month’s supply.


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Establishment and Application of Daily Cost-Sharing Rate Con’t..

42 CFR § 423.100

“Daily cost-sharing rate”’ means, as applicable, the established:

(1) Monthly copayment under the enrollee’s Part D plan, divided by 30 or 31 and rounded to the nearest lower dollar amount, if any, or to another amount, but in no event to an amount which would require the enrollee to pay more for a month’s supply of the prescription than would otherwise be the case; or

(2) Coinsurance percentage under the enrollee’s Part D plan.


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42 CFR § 423.153

(b) Drug utilization management. A Part D sponsor must have established a reasonable and appropriate drug utilization management program that—

(4)(i) Establishes a daily cost-sharing rate and applies it to a prescription presented to a network pharmacy for a covered Part D drug that is dispensed for a supply less than 30 days, and in the case of a monthly copayment, multiplies the daily cost-sharing rate by the days supply actually dispensed--


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(A) If the drug is in the form of a solid oral dose, subject to paragraph (b)(4)(i)(B) of this section and may be dispensed for a supply less than 30 days under applicable law;

(B) The requirements of paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section do not apply to either of the following:

(1) Solid oral doses of antibiotics.(2) Solid oral doses that are dispensed in their original container as indicated in the Food and Drug Administration Prescribing Information or are customarily dispensed in their original packaging to assist patients with compliance.


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Questions?

Interested in Learning More?

Sierra FletcherDirector of Policy and ProgramsProduct Stewardship Institute [email protected]

Contacts

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Policies to Prevent Pharmaceutical Waste: Initial Prescription Limitations and Pro-rating Co-pays

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