TGIF

On the surveys front --

• OPM released its latest Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results yesterday. Federal News Radio offers a useful overview of those results here. 
• USA Today reports that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released "a first-of-its-kind metric for measuring Americans’ health from birth to age 64: The Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Index. The BCBS Health Index highlights which illnesses — from major depression to substance use disorder —are lowering the quality of life of people across the nation." Hypertension is the most predominant chronic illness affecting the U.S. population
• Health Data Management informs us that "Artificial intelligence, 3D printing and robotic surgery are among the up-and-coming technologies selected for the Cleveland Clinic’s list of the top 10 medical innovations for 2019." Keep your sunny side up. 

On the Rx front --

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced yesterday an advance notice of proposed rule making concerning a significant change to Medicare Part B drug pricing. Medicare Part B covers physician administered drugs, which often are the more expensive specialty drugs. According to CMS, "Overall savings for American taxpayers and patients are projected to total $17.2 billion over five years." The accompanying fact sheet explains that

The Medicare payment for separately payable Part B drugs is typically based on the average sales price (ASP) of a given Part B drug, plus 6 percent of the ASP as an add-on.  For the potential [International Pricing Index or] IPI Model, CMS is considering testing an alternative payment for included drugs that would apply when ASP is higher than an international price. Instead of paying based on ASP, CMS would pay for the drug based on a Target Price derived from international price index and designed to draw down Part B drug prices toward international prices over the course of the model. We estimate that relying on an international price index and setting a Target Price rather than using ASP would result in roughly a 30 percent savings in total spending for the selected Part B drugs in the model. 

CMS would phase-in this Target Price over five years of the model. CMS seeks comment in the ANPRM on several aspects of the model payment, including calculation of the target and the international pricing data.

The comment deadline is December 11, 2018. Most Medicare cost reductions shift costs onto FEHB and private sector plans unless they can implement the same approach.

• The Drug Channels blog tells us

This week, Express Scripts announced an innovative pharmacy benefit contracting model for members of the National Drug Purchasing Coalition (NDPC), a group of 18 large employers. Click here to read the fully-titled press release. You should pay close attention to this b.i.g. news. It is structured so that Express Scripts will not profit from the flow of funds from a brand-name manufacturer to a plan sponsor. What’s more, the PBM’s compensation will be fully delinked from drug list prices. Instead, Express Scripts will earn only fixed management fees plus additional at-risk compensation tied to clinical outcomes. 

Have a good weekend.