Court squashes plan for Medicare prescription drug card

CMS considers an appeal but also plans to work with Congress to push for a comprehensive drug benefit.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Feb. 17, 2003.

A federal court in late January ruled that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services cannot proceed with its second plan to implement Medicare prescription drug coverage cards.

In a 40-minute ruling from the bench, Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the plan went beyond what CMS and the Health and Human Services Dept. were authorized to do under the Medicare Act.

Friedman agreed with arguments by the National Community Pharmacists Assn. and the National Assn. of Chain Drug Stores that the government must go through Congress if it wants to involve the private sector.

He permanently enjoined CMS and HHS from implementing the program, called the Medicare-Endorsed Prescription Drug Card Assistance Initiative. His ruling pleased community pharmacists and chain pharmacies.

"While we applaud the administration's good intentions to address this problem, we are very pleased with this decision because it shifts the debate to Congress, where a number of creative solutions and viewpoints should be considered," said S. Lawrence Kocot, NACDS general counsel and senior vice president. The group represents 215 chain community pharmacy companies.

The drug card plan "would have caused considerable harm to many of the nation's community pharmacies, possibly restricting seniors' access to the personal service and medication advice they often seek from our members," said Bruce Roberts, executive vice president and chief operating officer for NCPA. The association represents the owners, managers and employees of about 25,000 independent community pharmacies.