The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted comments Sept. 24 to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to a proposed rule updating the Medicare program—the 2019 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System—and an accompanying request for information.
In its letter, Pew highlighted strategies for Medicare to lower drug spending and reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in hospital outpatient settings. For example, Pew described how CMS could use its authority under the Competitive Acquisition Program to boost competition for physician-administered medicines and supported CMS’ proposal to reimburse payments for drugs and biologicals during the initial sales period. Pew also highlighted the potential for including quality measures aimed at assessing antibiotic prescribing practices as a way to improve the use of antibiotics.