423.120—Access to covered Part D drugs.

(a) Assuring pharmacy access— (1) Standards for convenient access to network pharmacies. Except as provided in paragraph (a)(7) of this section, a Part D sponsor (as defined in § 423.4 of this part) must have a contracted pharmacy network consisting of retail pharmacies sufficient to ensure that, for beneficiaries residing in each State in a PDP sponsor's service area (as defined in § 423.112(a) of this part ), each State in a regional MA-organization's service area (as defined in § 422.2 of this part ), the entire service area of a local MA organization (as defined in § 422.2 of this chapter) or the entire geographic area of a cost contract (as defined in § 417.401 of this chapter) all of the following requirements are satisfied:

(i) At least 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, on average, in urban areas served by the Part D sponsor live within 2 miles of a network pharmacy that is a retail pharmacy or a pharmacy described under paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(ii) At least 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, on average, in suburban areas served by the Part D sponsor live within 5 miles of a network pharmacy that is a retail pharmacy or a pharmacy described under paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(iii) At least 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, on average, in rural areas served by the Part D sponsor live within 15 miles of a network pharmacy that is a retail pharmacy or a pharmacy described under paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(2) Applicability of some non-retail pharmacies to standards for convenient access. Part D sponsors may count I/T/U pharmacies and pharmacies operated by Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Centers toward the standards for convenient access to network pharmacies in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(3) Access to non-retail pharmacies. A Part D sponsor's contracted pharmacy network may be supplemented by non-retail pharmacies, including pharmacies offering home delivery via mail-order and institutional pharmacies, provided the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section are met.

(4) Access to home infusion pharmacies. A Part D sponsor's contracted pharmacy network must provide adequate access to home infusion pharmacies consistent with written policy guidelines and other CMS instructions. A Part D plan must ensure that such network pharmacies, at a minimum meet all the following requirements:

(i) Are capable of delivering home-infused drugs in a form that can be administered in a clinically appropriate fashion.

(ii) Are capable of providing infusible Part D drugs for both short-term acute care and long-term chronic care therapies.

(iii) Ensure that the professional services and ancillary supplies necessary for home infusion therapy are in place before dispensing Part D home infusion drugs.

(iv) Provide delivery of home infusion drugs within 24 hours of discharge from an acute care setting, or later if so prescribed.

(5) Access to long-term care pharmacies. A Part D sponsor must offer standard contracting terms and conditions, including performance and service criteria for long-term care pharmacies that CMS specifies, to all long-term care pharmacies in its service area. The sponsor must provide convenient access to long-term care pharmacies consistent with written policy guidelines and other CMS instructions.

(6) Access to I/T/U pharmacies. A Part D sponsor must offer standard contracting terms and conditions conforming to the model addendum that CMS develops, to all I/T/U pharmacies in its service area. The sponsor must provide convenient access to I/T/U pharmacies consistent with written policy guidelines and other CMS instructions.

(7) Waiver of pharmacy access requirements. CMS waives the requirements under paragraph (a)(1) of this section in the case of either of the following:

(i) An MA organization or cost contract (as described in section 1876(h) of the Act) that provides its enrollees with access to covered Part D drugs through pharmacies owned and operated by the MA organization or cost contract, provided the organization's or plan's pharmacy network meets the access standard set forth—

(A) At § 422.112 of this chapter for an MA organization; or

(B) At § 417.416(e) of this chapter for a cost contract.

(ii) An MA organization offering a private fee-for-service plan described in § 422.4 of this chapter that—

(A) Offers qualified prescription drug coverage; and

(B) Provides plan enrollees with access to covered Part D drugs dispensed at all pharmacies, without regard to whether they are contracted network pharmacies and without charging cost-sharing in excess of that described in § 423.104(d)(2) and (d)(5).

(8) Pharmacy network contracting requirements. In establishing its contracted pharmacy network, a Part D sponsor offering qualified prescription drug coverage—

(i) Must contract with any pharmacy that meets the Part D sponsor's standard terms and conditions; and

(ii) May not require a pharmacy to accept insurance risk as a condition of participation in the Part D sponsor's contracted pharmacy network.

(9) Differential cost-sharing for preferred pharmacies. A Part D sponsor offering a Part D plan that provides coverage other than defined standard coverage may reduce copayments or coinsurance for covered Part D drugs obtained through a preferred pharmacy relative to the copayments or coinsurance applicable for such drugs when obtained through a non-preferred pharmacy. Such differentials are taken into account in determining whether the requirements under § 423.104(d)(2) and (d)(5) and § 423.104(e) are met. Any cost-sharing reduction under this section must not increase CMS payments to the Part D plan under § 423.329.

(10) Level playing field between mail-order and network pharmacies. A Part D sponsor must permit its Part D plan enrollees to receive benefits, which may include a 90-day supply of covered Part D drugs, at any of its network pharmacies that are retail pharmacies. A Part D sponsor may require an enrollee obtaining a covered Part D drug at a network pharmacy that is a retail pharmacy to pay any higher cost-sharing applicable to that covered Part D drug at the network pharmacy that is a retail pharmacy instead of the cost-sharing applicable to that covered Part D drug at the network pharmacy that is a mail-order pharmacy.

(b) Formulary requirements. A Part D sponsor that uses a formulary under its qualified prescription drug coverage must meet the following requirements—

(1) Development and revision by a pharmacy and therapeutic committee. A Part D sponsor's formulary must be developed and reviewed by a pharmacy and therapeutic committee that—

(i) Includes a majority of members who are practicing physicians and/or practicing pharmacists.

(ii) Includes at least one practicing physician and at least one practicing pharmacist who are independent and free of conflict relative to-

(A) The Part D sponsor and Part D plan; and

(B) Pharmaceutical manufacturers.

(iii) Includes at least one practicing physician and one practicing pharmacist who are experts regarding care of elderly or disabled individuals.

(iv) Bases clinical decisions on the strength of scientific evidence and standards of practice, including assessing peer-reviewed medical literature, pharmacoeconomic studies, outcomes research data, and other such information as it determines appropriate.

(v) Considers whether the inclusion of a particular Part D drug in a formulary or formulary tier has any therapeutic advantages in terms of safety and efficacy.

(vi) Reviews policies that guide exceptions and other utilization management processes, including drug utilization review, quantity limits, generic substitution, and therapeutic interchange.

(vii) Evaluates and analyzes treatment protocols and procedures related to the plan's formulary at least annually consistent with written policy guidelines and other CMS instructions.

(viii) Documents in writing its decisions regarding formulary development and revision and utilization management activities.

(ix) Reviews and approves all clinical prior authorization criteria, step therapy protocols, and quantity limit restrictions applied to each covered Part D drug.

(x) Meets other requirements consistent with written policy guidelines and other CMS instructions.

(2) Provision of an Adequate Formulary. A Part D plan's formulary must—

(i) Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(2)(ii) and (v) of this section, include within each therapeutic category and class of Part D drugs at least two Part D drugs that are not therapeutically equivalent and bioequivalent, with different strengths and dosage forms available for each of those drugs, except that only one Part D drug must be included in a particular category or class of covered Part D drugs if the category or class includes only one Part D drug.

(ii) Include at least one Part D drug within a particular category or class of Part D drugs to the extent the Part D plan demonstrates, and CMS approves, the following-

(A) That only two drugs are available in that category or class of Part D drugs; and

(B) That one drug is clinically superior to the other drug in that category or class of Part D drugs.

(iii) Include adequate coverage of the types of drugs most commonly needed by Part D enrollees, as recognized in national treatment guidelines.

(iv) Be approved by CMS consistent with § 423.272(b)(2).

(v) Effective contract year 2010, a Part D Sponsor's formulary will include all Part D drugs in a category or class that CMS has identified as meeting the two conditions set forth in section 1860D-4(b)(3)(G)(i) of the Act. CMS may establish certain exceptions, which may include the application of drug utilization management under certain circumstances, through a process that provides for public notice and comment, and ensures that any exception to such requirements is based upon scientific evidence and medical standards of practice (and, in the case of antiretroviral medications, is consistent with the Department of Health and Human Services Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents).

(vi) Exceptions to paragraph (b)(2)(v) of this section are as follows:

(A) Drug products that are rated as therapeutically equivalent (under the Food and Drug Administration's most recent publication of “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” also known as the Orange Book).

(B) Utilization management processes that limit the quantity of drugs due to safety.

(C) Other drugs that CMS specifies through a process that is based upon scientific evidence and medical standards of practice (and, in the case of antiretroviral medications, is consistent with the Department of Health and Human Services Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents) and which permits public notice and comment.

(3) Transition process. A Part D sponsor must provide for an appropriate transition process for enrollees prescribed Part D drugs that are not on its Part D plan's formulary (including Part D drugs that are on a sponsor's formulary but require prior authorization or step therapy under a plan's utilization management rules). The transition process must:

(i) Be applicable to all of the following:

(A) New enrollees into Part D plans following the annual coordinated election period.

(B) Newly eligible Medicare enrollees from other coverage.

(D) Current enrollees remaining in the plan affected by formulary changes.

(ii) Ensure access to a temporary supply of drugs within the first 90 days of coverage under a new plan. This 90 day timeframe applies to retail, home infusion, long-term care and mail-order pharmacies,

(iii) Ensure the provision of a temporary fill when an enrollee requests a fill of a non-formulary drug during the time period specified in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section (including Part D drugs that are on a plan's formulary but require prior authorization or step therapy under a plan's utilization management rules).

(A) In the outpatient setting, the one-time, temporary supply of non-formulary Part D drugs (including Part D drugs that are on a sponsor's formulary but require prior authorization or step therapy under a sponsor's utilization management rules) must be for at least 30 days of medication, unless the prescription is written by a prescriber for less than 30 days and requires the Part D sponsor to allow multiple fills to provide up to a total of 30 days of medication.

(B) In the long-term care setting, the temporary supply of non-formulary Part D drugs (including Part D drugs that are on a sponsor's formulary but require prior authorization or step therapy under a sponsor's utilization management rules) must be for up to 93 days in 31 day supply increments, with refills provided, if needed, unless a lesser amount is actually prescribed by the prescriber.

(iv) Ensure written notice is provided to each affected enrollee within 3 business days after adjudication of the temporary fill.

(v) Ensure that reasonable efforts are made to notify prescribers of affected enrollees who receive a transition notice under paragraph (b)(3)(iv) of this section.

(4) Limitation on changes in therapeutic classification. Except as CMS may permit to account for new therapeutic uses and newly approved Part D drugs, a Part D sponsor may not change the therapeutic categories and classes in a formulary other than at the beginning of each plan year.

(5) Provision of notice regarding formulary changes (i) Prior to removing a covered Part D drug from its Part D plan's formulary, or making any change in the preferred or tiered cost-sharing status of a covered Part D drug, a Part D sponsor must provide at least 60 days notice to CMS, State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (as defined in § 423.454 ), entities providing other prescription drug coverage (as described in § 423.464(f)(1) ), authorized prescribers, network pharmacies, and pharmacists prior to the date such change becomes effective, and must either—

(A) Provide direct written notice to affected enrollees at least 60 days prior to the date the change becomes effective; or

(B) At the time an affected enrollee requests a refill of the Part D drug, provide such enrollee with a 60 day supply of the Part D drug under the same terms as previously allowed, and written notice of the formulary change.

(ii) The written notice must contain the following information-

(A) The name of the affected covered Part D drug;

(B) Whether the plan is removing the covered Part D drug from the formulary, or changing its preferred or tiered cost-sharing status;

(C) The reason why the plan is removing such covered Part D drug from the formulary, or changing its preferred or tiered cost-sharing status;

(D) Alternative drugs in the same therapeutic category or class or cost-sharing tier and expected cost-sharing for those drugs; and

(E) The means by which enrollees may obtain a coverage determination under § 423.566 or exception under § 423.578.

(iii) Part D sponsors may immediately remove from their Part D plan formularies covered Part D drugs deemed unsafe by the Food and Drug Administration or removed from the market by their manufacturer without meeting the requirements of paragraphs (b)(5)((i) of this section. Part D sponsors must provide retrospective notice of any such formulary changes to affected enrollees, CMS, State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (as defined in § 423.454 ), entities providing other prescription drug coverage (as described in § 423.464(f)(1) ), authorized prescribers, network pharmacies, and pharmacists consistent with the requirements of paragraphs (b)(5)(ii)(A), (b)(5)(ii)(B), (b)(5)(ii)(C), and (b)(5)(ii)(D) of this section.

(6) Limitation on formulary changes prior to the beginning of a contract year. Except as provided under paragraph (b)(5)(iii) of this section, a Part D sponsor may not remove a covered Part D drug from its Part D plan's formulary, or make any change in the preferred or tiered cost-sharing status of a covered Part D drug on its plan's formulary, between the beginning of the annual coordinated election period described in § 423.38(b) and days after the beginning of the contract year associated with that annual coordinated election period.

(7) Provider and patient education. A Part D sponsor must establish policies and procedures to educate and inform health care providers and enrollees concerning its formulary.

(c) Use of standardized technology. (1) A Part D sponsor must issue and reissue, as necessary, a card or other type of technology that its enrollees may use to access negotiated prices for covered Part D drugs as provided under § 423.104(g). The card or other technology must comply with standards CMS establishes.

(2) When processing Part D claims, a Part D sponsor or its intermediary must comply with the electronic transaction standards established by 45 CFR 162.1102. CMS will issue guidance on the use of conditional fields within such standards.

(3) A Part D sponsor must require its network pharmacies to submit claims to the Part D sponsor or its intermediary whenever the card described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section is presented or on file at the pharmacy unless the enrollee expressly requests that a particular claim not be submitted to the Part D sponsor or its intermediary.

(4) Beginning January 1, 2012, a part D sponsor must assign and exclusively use a unique—

(i) Part D BIN or RxBIN and Part D processor control number (RxPCN) combination in its Medicare line of business; and

(ii) Part D cardholder identification number (RxID) to each Medicare Part D enrollee to clearly identify Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

[70 FR 4525, Jan. 28, 2005, as amended at 73 FR 20506, Apr. 15, 2008; 74 FR 2888, Jan. 16, 2009; 75 FR 19816, Apr. 15, 2010; 75 FR 32860, June 10, 2010]