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U.S. District Court Files 14-Day Nationwide Injunction for CMS’ Most Favored Nation Drug Pricing Model

Published December 24, 2020

The Alliance for Aging Research Supports the Court’s Decision to Pause Implementation.

WASHINGTON, December 24, 2020 – On Wednesday, December 23, 2020, the United States District Court in Maryland issued a nationwide injunction for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Most Favored Nation drug pricing model. The injunction prevents the Administration from implementing the rule for 14 days, allowing time for the Court to evaluate the legality of the model. Prior to the injunction, the MFN rule would have been implemented on January 1, 2021.

To support the need for an injunction, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake cited that the Administration had rushed implementation of the rule without providing time for public comment, a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Alliance for Aging Research supports the Court’s decision to pause implementation. “The Most Favored Nation rule would have an immediate and negative impact on Medicare Part B beneficiaries’ access to therapeutics for terminal cancers, vision loss, and other serious illnesses. The Alliance thanks U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake for her expedited decision, given that U.S. Health and Human Services was trying to bypass notice and comment procedures required under the Administrative Procedures Act. We hope to see the rule enjoined permanently in early January,” said Sue Peschin, the Alliance’s President and CEO.

Recently, the Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief, urging the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to temporarily halt the implementation of CMS’ MFN model interim final rule to avoid causing severe harm to older patients across the nation.

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About the Alliance for Aging Research

The Alliance for Aging Research is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discoveries and their application to vastly improve the universal human experience of aging and health. The Alliance believes advances in research help people live longer, happier, more productive lives and reduce healthcare costs over the long term. For more than 30 years, the Alliance has guided efforts to substantially increase funding and focus for aging at the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration; built influential coalitions to guide groundbreaking regulatory improvements for age-related diseases; and created award-winning, high-impact educational materials to improve the health and well-being of older adults and their family caregivers. For more information, visit www.agingresearch.org

Media Contact:
Janelle Germanos
Communications Manager
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(202) 688-1209

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