Appeal type: unknown
Decision: unknown

Citations used in this letter come from Section 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations which you will find abbreviated as 42 CFR with the corresponding section numbers, i.e., 42 CFR Sections 423.578, 423.100.A Part D plan is permitted to use step therapy to manage its formulary. This is the process of beginning drug therapy for a medical condition with preferred (or more cost-effective) non-formulary drug alternative(s) and progressing to other drug therapies only as necessary. A plan must grant an exception to its step therapy rules if it determines that the requested drug is medically necessary, consistent with the prescriber's statement. The statement must show that the step therapy drug(s): has been ineffective in the treatment of the enrollee's disease or medical condition or, based on both sound clinical evidence and medical and scientific evidence and the known relevant physical or mental characteristics of the enrollee and known characteristics of the drug regimen, is likely to be ineffective or adversely affect the drug's effectiveness or patient compliance; or has caused or based on sound clinical evidence and medical and scientific evidence, is likely to cause an adverse reaction or other harm to the enrollee. 42 CFR Section 423.578(b)(5)(ii).A Part D Plan may establish tiered cost-sharing for drugs on its formulary. The Plan groups covered drugs into different cost-sharing levels or tiers. Medicare rules permit an enrollee to request a tiering exception to cover a higher cost-sharing tiered drug at a lower cost-sharing tier level so long as there is a drug on a lower cost-sharing tier that is approved for treating the same condition that the requested higher cost-sharing tiered drug is being used to treat. However, Medicare rules also permit a Plan to design its tiering exception procedures so that a Plan does not have to grant a tiering exception for brand or biologic drugs if the lower cost-sharing tier or tiers only contain generic drugs approved for treating the same condition. 42 CFR Sections 423.4; 423.578(a); 423.578(a)(6); 423.578(c)(3)(ii); Parts C & D Grievances, Organization/Coverage Determinations, and Appeals Guidance Manual, Section 40.5.1. The prescription drug benefit offered by the Part D Plan must meet criteria requirements pertaining to the annual deductible, the initial coverage limit, the coverage gap and catastrophic coverage. For the initial coverage limit, the rules provide for a benefit of shared coverage of costs between the enrollee and Plan. An enrollee in a Part D Plan may be subject to annual deductibles, coinsurance and copayments (including tiered copayments) specified by the Plan. 42 CFR Section 423.104.Each drug on the Plan's formulary is assigned to a cost-sharing tier. The Part D Plan contract allows an enrollee to request an exception to the Plan's cost-sharing structure to pay less for a drug. This is called a tiering exception. The prescriber must provide medical reasons to support a tiering exception. The Plan cannot grant a tiering exception for any drug in the specialty cost-sharing tier. The Plan cannot grant a tiering exception for a non-formulary drug being covered under an exception to the formulary. Please refer to the Plan's Evidence of Coverage (EOC).