Medicare Part B Prescription Drug Dispensing and Supplying Fee Payment Rates Are Considerably Higher Than the Rates Paid by Other Government Programs

摘要

Medicare Part B (Part B) pays a dispensing fee for inhalation drugs administered through durable medical equipment (inhalation drugs). Part B also pays a supplying fee for immunosuppressive drugs associated with an organ transplant (immunosuppressive drugs), oral anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs (anticancer drugs), and oral antiemetic drugs used as part of an anticancer chemotherapeutic regimen (antiemetic drugs). In 2011, Part B paid nearly $133 million for dispensing and supplying fees for these drugs. In previous work, we noticed a large disparity between the supplying fee amount that Part B paid for immunosuppressive drugs and the amounts Medicare Part D (Part D) sponsors and State Medicaid programs paid. Our objective was to determine whether Medicare Part B could have achieved cost savings for prescription drug dispensing and supplying fees during 2011.