CMS Proposes to Rescind MFN Model Interim Final Rule
August 10, 2021
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a
proposed rule that would rescind the Most Favored Nation (MFN) model interim final rule on Tuesday. If implemented, the MFN model may have reduced payment rates for certain drugs and biologicals, including cellular therapies and some blood and blood products.
AABB, America’s Blood Center and the American Red Cross
urged CMS to exclude blood and blood products and gene and cell therapies from the MFN Model, as the reimbursement rates for these products lag behind their actual costs. The agency received more than 1,100 additional comments.
In the
Aug. 10 Federal Register notice, CMS stated that the proposal would allow the agency “time to further consider the issues identified by commenters and would address the November 2020 interim final rule's procedural deficiencies by rescinding it.” The agency is accepting comments on the proposed rule through Oct. 12.
The Trump administration proposed the MFN model interim final rule in November 2020, but a federal court
issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing CMS from implementing the model and rule because the agency did not complete the notice and comment procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act.