MOORESTOWN, N.J., July 28, 2021 — Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc.® (TRHC) (NASDAQ: TRHC), today joined a coalition of 37 physician, pharmacy, patient advocacy, health care quality, managed care, and academic associations, companies, and institutions calling upon the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s (CMMI) Part D Enhanced Medication Therapy Management (EMTM) Model currently set to sunset on December 31, 2021.
In an effort to identify opportunities to improve beneficiary outcomes in the traditional Part D MTM program, CMMI launched the EMTM Model on January 1, 2017, with the goal of aligning incentives, lowering overall Medicare spending, and reducing medication risk for enrollees.
Since its inception, the innovations and clinical resources funded by the Model have helped to improve the safe use of medications for enrolled Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Many EMTM interventions have also demonstrated improved health outcomes and lower medical spending across Medicare Parts A and B.
“The EMTM Model encourages collaboration and alignment among plan sponsors, pharmacists, and physicians, to help significantly improve the health outcomes of patients, especially our most vulnerable populations, beyond the traditional Part D MTM programs,” said TRHC Chairman and CEO Calvin H. Knowlton, PhD. “We at TRHC believe it is critical to expand this program to further advance the lessons and opportunities uncovered by the EMTM Model.”
The members of the coalition are asking Department of Health and Human Services to extend or expand this important program to ensure safe use of medications for millions of Americans on Medicare. Specifically, they strongly urge HHS to apply key flexibilities from the EMTM Model to the national Part D Medication Therapy Management Program (MTMP); to allow plan sponsors to implement innovative best practices currently unavailable in MTMP; and to extend the current CMMI EMTM Model beyond the current end date to better understand the full savings and quality improvement implications of the first 5 years, without disrupting current recipients, programs, and investments.
“I strongly believe we need to urge HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to extend the CMS’ Enhanced Medication Therapy Management (EMTM) program, which is significantly improving therapeutic outcomes at lower costs in vulnerable and low-income Medicare patients,” said John C. “Jack” Lewin MD, Chairman, National Coalition on Health Care. “This program has not had time to demonstrate its full worth.”
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