Update on pharmaceutical reimbursement and implications for health-system pharmacists: Introduction

摘要

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules and rates for pharmaceutical reimbursement have been modified repeatedly since the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act was first signed into law in late 2003. Many of the recent changes in CMS rules and rates are the result of concerns about the future sustainability of financing to cover a growing population of beneficiaries with increasing health care expenses. The number of Medicare beneficiaries is expected to nearly double between the year 2000 and the year 2030, when the projected number of beneficiaries is expected to exceed 76 million.