CMS Turns Down Massachusetts Drug Pricing Plans

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rejected Massachusetts’ request to be allowed to select which drugs its Medicaid program would cover based on cost and effectiveness.

In a letter to MassHealth, CMS said it rejected the proposal because Massachusetts planned to exclude some drugs while continuing to collect other pharmaceutical rebates.

In a statement, Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, called the decision “disappointing for Massachusetts and for a lot of other states that really want to do something similar.”