H.R. 5732, the “Part D Off-Label Prescription Parity Act" was confirmed in Congress Wednesday. The bill is desgined to allow Medicare coverage of off-label medication when its use is supported by peer-reviewed medical literature, as is the case for Medicare Part B and for Part D medications used to treat cancer. With key consultation and support from noted clinicians and other health organizations, the Society has worked closely with Reps. Kilroy and Thornberry to draft this legislation. Linda Buchwald M.D. and Chief of Neurology and Medical Director of the MS Comprehensive Care Center in Cambridge, MA and Randy Shapiro President of the Schapiro Multiple Sclerosis Advisory Group in Eagle, CO, the Medicare Rights Center and the National Organization for Rare Disorders were instrumental in the development and championing of this bills’ introduction.
Currently, many Medicare consumers who suffer from chronic conditions, such as MS, are unable to access safe and effective medications under Part D, which does not allow coverage for drugs that are used off-label. The cost of MS disease-modifying therapies and symptom treatments can be staggering and not always covered by insurance. Access to prescribed drugs, however, can often allow people with MS to live active and productive lives. Doctors, based on existing medical literature and their professional judgment, routinely prescribe medications for off-label uses, meaning the drugs are used for purposes other than those originally approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Doctors and patients should be able to decide the best safe and effective medications for their treatments,” said Rep. Kilroy. “We must fight for the right to be treated with the best, safest medicine in consultation with our physicians, not a government bureaucrat.”
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