NCPA sues HHS over fees
By HME News Staff
Updated 11:22 AM CST, Mon January 18, 2021
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over direct and indirect remuneration fees that it says are driving small business neighborhood pharmacies out of business. The lawsuit alleges that the fees are without reasonable transparency, and they conceal from patients and taxpayers the true cost of prescription drugs. “Pharmacy clawbacks are fundamentally dishonest and unfair for patients and pharmacies, and they make it impossible for pharmacies to predict their costs,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “Sixty percent of community pharmacies believe they may go out of business in the next two years if the clawbacks are not addressed.” The case, NCPA vs. Azar, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In its complaint, the NCPA argues that a rule allowing price concessions to be imposed on pharmacies long after the point of sale violates the language and intent of the Medicare Act. The lawsuit highlights an exception included in a CMS rule that states all negotiated prices must include price concessions from network pharmacies except those contingent price concessions that cannot reasonably be determined at the point of sale. A recent study cited in the complaint showed that pharmacy DIR fees have increased 1,600% since 2015, with $4 billion in DIR fees being squeezed from pharmacies in 2017 alone.
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