If a physician adopts e-prescribing technology in 2009 and 2010, he/she will receive a 2 percent bonus in Medicare payments. Those who don’t will see reductions in reimbursements. (Kaiser Network)
Contained in the bill that delays a 10.6 percent Medicare reimbursement rate cut are details of an electronic prescribing incentive program, which is designed to save money and reduce drug-related errors. The program will begin on January 1, 2009.
Kerry Weems, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), says each physician will have to pay $3,000 to adopt the technology and pay between $80 and $400 a month to run the system.
In other CMS news, a new proposal would limit the practice of “lock-in pricing,” used by pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). This practice can increase costs for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D and cause them to fall into the “donut hole” coverage gap quicker than they normally would. An excerpt:
Under lock-in pricing, PBMs charge a higher rate to insurers with whom they have contracted to administer their drug benefit than what they pay pharmacies to dispense the drugs to beneficiaries, according to the Journal. The PBMs then keep the difference.
According to CMS, about 19 percent of drug plans use lock-in-pricing.
