Patients, Physicians and Caregivers Speak with One Voice Against MFN

When over 350 organizations representing patients, physicians and caregivers speak with one voice, Congress should listen carefully. This week, a diverse group of advocates from the Part B Access for Seniors and Physicians Coalition sent a letter to Congress warning of the devastating impacts that Medicare’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy will have on patients with life-threatening diseases and the providers that treat them. Organizations that signed the letter represent disorders ranging from A to Z — autoimmune diseases, blood disorders, cancer, eye diseases, rare diseases and rheumatoid arthritis and more. Bottom line: if a Medicare beneficiary gets treated with medication that must be infused in a clinic-setting or is administered directly by a physician, the MFN policy could interfere with their treatment, quality of life and longevity.

MFN is a new policy for Medicare Part B therapies that goes into effect on January 1, 2021. It calculates the price of a physcian-administered drug in 22 foreign countries to determine the Medicare payment for that Part B drug. When the price of the drug internationally is lower than what a U.S. physician is able to purchase it, the Medicare patient would have to forgo that particular medication, even if it’s the therapy the physician knows would best treat their condition.

Policies like MFN limit the medical decision-making of physicians and make it harder for patients to get the drugs they need to treat their disease. Patients and providers – not government cost controls – should always be at the center of medical decision making. Join with Patients and Providers United and CONTACT CONGRESS NOW to preserve access to the medication, procedures and care recommended in comprehensive treatment plans physicians tailor for each patient.