CMS plans to delay the start date for a rule that would require drugmakers to report the discounts they offer patients when calculating the "best price" for drugs in the Medicaid rebate program, according to a proposed rule submitted this week.
The new reporting requirements were slated to start Jan. 1, but CMS is proposing a six-month delay. The requirements then would take effect July 1, 2022.
CMS said the delay will allow affected parties more time to make the "complex system changes necessary to implement the new best price" program and ensure the industry gets through the pandemic.
Drugmakers sued HHS over the CMS best price rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last week.
CMS also proposed delaying the inclusion of some U.S. territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, in the Medicaid drug rebate program. The effective date for their inclusion was to be in April 2022, but CMS is proposing a two-year delay.
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