Medicare Modernization Act Final Guidelines-Formularies CMS Strategy for Affordable Access to Comprehensive Drug Coverage: Guidelines for Reviewing Prescription Drug Plan Formularies and Procedures

This paper is final guidance on how CMS will review Medicare prescription drug benefit plans to assure that beneficiaries receive clinically appropriate medications at the lowest possible cost. Two key requirements in the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) are to assure that drug plans provide access to medically necessary treatments for all and do not discriminate against any particular types of beneficiaries, and to encourage and support the use of approaches to drug benefit management that are proven and in widespread use in prescription drug plans today. The goal is for plans to provide high-quality cost-effective drug benefits by negotiating the best possible prices and using effective drug utilization management techniques.