NACDS Welcomes CMS' Move on MTM, Pushes for Improved Medication Use to Benefit Patient Care

PRESS RELEASE

Arlington, Va. - The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) yesterday welcomed action by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that could spur advancement of medication therapy management (MTM). While NACDS is reviewing with member companies CMS’ latest action, NACDS urged Congress and the Administration to continue to pursue opportunities to put pharmacist-provided MTM to work immediately to help improve patient health and to benefit from reduced healthcare costs.

"NACDS and our allies know that MTM can go a long way toward helping patients get and stay healthy, and toward addressing the $290 billion in annual costs that are associated with not taking medications as prescribed,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. “That is why NACDS is advocating for the Medication Therapy Management Act (S. 776), and that is why NACDS has advocated consistently for MTM programs in the Affordable Care Act - including the passage and subsequent implementation of patient-centered comprehensive medication reviews in Medicare Part D plans, which will further reinforce the importance of patients taking their medications as prescribed.”

CMS yesterday

announced

the “Part D Enhanced Medication Therapy Management (MTM) model,” which CMS described as “an opportunity for stand-alone basic Prescription Drug Plans in selected regions to offer innovative MTM programs, aimed at improving the quality of care while also reducing costs.”

The program is scheduled to begin January 1, 2017, and CMS will evaluate the results of new approaches to MTM over the course of five years, to help “achieve better alignment of PDP sponsor and government financial interests, while also creating incentives for robust investment and innovation in better MTM targeting and interventions.”

Reports by the

Congressional Budget Office

(CBO) and by

CMS

, as well as articles in

Health Affairs

and the

Journal of American Pharmacists

, offer further support that appropriate medication use can improve health while lowering costs.

“We look forward to learning more about CMS’ announcement when they go into more detail in the October webinar that they announced today. We want to identify exactly how this fits into a comprehensive vision to help patients benefit from MTM — particularly those patients who have the most to gain from improved medication use,” said Anderson.