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On Dec. 28, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing the Most Favored Nation (MFN) interim final rule.
In vacating the MFN rule, Judge Vince Chhabria found that CMS violated the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act. Absent a successful appeal by the administration of Judge Chhabria’s decision, implementation of the MFN will require CMS to complete the notice and comment process.
The MFN rule, which was to take effect on Jan. 1, would have required CMS to pay the lowest price paid by any comparable Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country for at least 50 separately payable Medicare Part B drugs. All Medicare providers and suppliers that receive separate Medicare Part B fee-for-service payment for the model’s included drugs, with certain exceptions, were required to participate.
CHA has issued a detailed summary, prepared by Health Policy Alternatives, of the MFN model.
