Pill packets Some physicians andpatient advocates are concerned that the pursuit of lower Part Bdrug prices could endanger very sick Medicare Advantage patients ifthey can't be treated promptly. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Starting next year, Medicare Advantage plans will be able to addrestrictions on expensive, injectable drugs administered by doctorsto treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, macular degeneration andother serious diseases.

Under the new rules, these private Medicare insurance plans couldrequire patients to try cheaper drugs first. If those are noteffective, then the patients could receive the more expensivemedication prescribed by their doctors.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.