The Infusion Providers Alliance (IPA) is the leading voice for [...]

Suspension of the Medicare sequester is key to helping providers administer critical medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Infusion centers and physician offices rely on the current, well-established “buy-and-bill” distribution system that has provided uninterrupted and reliable patient access to Part B infused drugs for decades.

The Infusion Providers Alliance supports the Senate Finance Committee’s overall goals of lowering prescription drug costs for patients. However, the alliance is concerned that a coupon provision included in “The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019” could increase out-of-pocket costs and make treatment less accessible

As discussed above, the Infusion Providers Alliance opposes changes to the “buy-and-bill” model that puts patients at risk by unnecessarily increasing the complexity of the supply chain, creating problems with timely access and drug wastage due to changes in therapy regimen and potentially polluting the chain of custody of individual medications for patients.

As policymakers and the public search for ways to lower prescription drug costs, it has become clear that administering infused and injected specialty drugs in the in-office or ambulatory infusion facility rather than the hospital setting can drive substantial savings.

Recently, some insurance companies have instituted polices requiring biologic infused or injectable drugs to be procured exclusively through a specialty pharmacy.