On November 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (“CMS”) released the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) final rule (“Final Rule”), finalizing a Medicare payment reduction from Average Sales Price (“ASP”) + 6% to ASP – 22.5%, for 340B discounted drugs in the hospital outpatient setting, as was proposed in the OPPS proposed rule earlier this year. This payment reduction is effective January 1, 2018, and would primarily impact disproportionate share hospitals, rural referral centers, and non-rural sole community hospitals.

340B Program Generally

The 340B program, established by section 340B of the Public Health Service Act by the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, generally allows for certain eligible health care providers (“Covered Entities”) to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices. The 340B program is administered by Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”).

CMS Policy Background for the Final Rule

In response to reports of the growth of 340B drug utilization by hospital providers, as well as the recent trends in high and growing prices of several separately payable drugs administered under Part B, CMS reexamined the appropriateness of the ASP +6% payment methodology to 340B drugs. This policy change as finalized would allow the Medicare program and beneficiaries to pay less for outpatient drugs, in a way that more closely aligns Medicare payment for 340B drugs to the resources expended by hospitals in acquiring such drugs. Additionally, CMS did not believe that beneficiaries should be responsible for a copayment rate tied to ASP + 6% when the actual cost to acquire the drug under the 340B program is much lower than the ASP for the drug.

340B Drug Payment Reduction

Under the Medicare program, CMS generally reimburses separately payable outpatient drugs and biologics based upon a drug’s ASP as reported by its manufacturer, plus a 6% markup, regardless of whether the drug is purchased at a 340B discount price. Drugs that are not separately payable are packaged into the payment for the associated procedure and no separate payment is made for them.

Effective January 1, 2018, CMS will reduce this payment rate to ASP – 22.5% for non-pass-through separately payable drugs and biologics acquired with a 340B discount. Excluded from this payment reduction are drugs or biologics that have pass-through payment status (which are required to be paid under the ASP + 6% methodology), or vaccines (which are excluded from the 340B program). In the proposed rule, CMS contemplated excluding blood clotting factors and radiopharmaceuticals from this payment reduction, however, CMS has decided to subject these two product types to the new policy. CMS noted that this ASP – 22.5% payment rate is based upon a 2015 MedPAC report in which MedPAC estimated that, on average, hospitals in the 340B Program “receive a minimum discount of 22.5 percent of the [ASP] for drugs paid under the [OPPS].”

Certain types of hospitals will not be affected by the change. CMS has exempted Covered Entities that are rural sole community hospitals, children’s hospitals, and cancer hospitals from this 340B drug payment reduction policy. Additionally, critical access hospitals are not affected by this policy because they are not paid under the OPPS. CMS has stated this payment reduction does not apply to 340B drugs furnished at non-excepted off-campus provider based departments.

To implement this payment reduction, CMS will be utilizing a claims modifier to track whether a drug is a 340B-acquired drug, and another claims modifier for whether the Covered Entity is exempt from this payment reduction policy. Hospitals will be required to report modifier “JG” with the associated nonpass-through separately payable drug’s HCPCS code to identify whether the drug was acquired with a 340B discount. The rural sole community hospitals, children’s hospitals, and cancer hospitals exempt from this payment reduction policy will be required to report the modifier “TB” with the associated HCPCS code of the 340B-acquired drug.

Additional Considerations

It is important to note that this new payment reduction policy generally does not apply to 340B drugs dispensed at contract pharmacies. Drugs reimbursed under the Medicare OPPS are generally physician administered drugs, whereas drugs dispensed at a contract pharmacy are generally self-administered retail drugs. Furthermore, this payment reduction policy does not affect 340B drug reimbursement for non-hospital Covered Entities, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers and Ryan White Grantees.

While HRSA manages the 340B program, this payment reduction is specifically for drugs reimbursed under the Medicare program. Accordingly, this policy does not affect reimbursement of 340B drugs by other government or private payers. However, it is possible that the Final Rule may embolden other payers to follow suit by adopting 340B payment reductions similar to CMS.

Organizations representing hospitals already have announced intent to take legal action against this 340B drug payment reduction. This legal action will likely focus on arguments that CMS exceeded its statutory authority in its ability to calculate and adjust 340B acquired drug payment rates, and doing so in a manner that discriminates against safety net hospitals violates the Medicare statutes.

The OPPS Final Rule will be published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2017 and available online at https://federalregister.gov/d/2017-23932.