CMS authorizes claims data collection from Part D program

WASHINGTON The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published a final rule authorizing the collection of claims data under the Medicare Part D drug benefit program for research and other public health functions.

The rule, for instance, will permit the automated population (i.e., users do not have to enter information themselves) in personal health records, upon an individual’s consent, of medication histories and the physicians who prescribed drugs.

CMS is seeking Medicare beneficiaries in South Carolina to participate in a pilot program to assess the benefits of using PHRs. But absent this rule, the program was to start with beneficiaries entering their own prescription and over-the-counter medications into the PHR, because CMS believed present law limited its use of Part D data.

“We note that because this final rule applies to all Part D sponsors, it applies to any entity offering a Part D plan, including both prescription drug plan sponsors and Medicare Advantage organizations offering qualified prescription drug coverage,” according to the rule.