PAN joins letter thanking Congress for including requested report language about Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

The PAN Foundation and more than 50 patient advocate and healthcare organizations submitted a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, thanking them for including their previously requested report language regarding the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan.

Congress enacted the MPPP to provide Medicare Part D beneficiaries the option to pay their prescription drug costs in monthly installments over the course of a plan year. This is particularly impactful for beneficiaries with high-cost medication on fixed incomes. Being a new program that a beneficiary must opt into, significant outreach and education efforts, including collaboration with providers and pharmacies, are necessary.

The success of MPPP will, in part, be dictated by the ability to reach these individuals and help them understand their new option to enroll and smooth their out-of-pocket payments over the course of the year.

The report language previously requested by these advocacy organizations asks the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to report to Congress on uptake of the MPPP, the methods by which CMS is educating beneficiaries about the program, identifying barriers to participation, and outreach efforts with stakeholders such as provider associations and societies, patient and consumer advocacy groups, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmacies, and health insurance providers. CMS is also instructed to continue to explore mechanisms to facilitate point-of-sale enrollment to ensure easy access to the program.

Read the letter to Congress