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.Medicare law defines those drugs that may be covered under Part D. A covered prescription drug must be used for a medically accepted indication. A medically accepted indication means a use that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or a use supported by one or more citations in the drug compendia approved by Medicare. Medically accepted indications do not include uses in research or uses described in peer-reviewed medical literature. Please refer to Social Security Act, Sections 1860D-2(e)(1) and 1927(k)(6); and 42 CFR Section 423.100. A Part D plan is permitted to use a number of different tools to manage its formulary. One of these tools is known as prior authorization. This process requires an enrollee to obtain coverage approval for a drug before the drug is dispensed and covered by the plan. 70 Federal Register No. 18, issued January 28, 2005 (Preamble to Final Rule). Formulary use includes the application of cost utilization tools, including step-therapy, dosage limitations and therapeutic substitution. 42 CFR Section 423.578(b)(iii). The exceptions process extends to coverage requests to set aside cost utilization rules for non-formulary drugs. A Part D plan must grant an exception whenever it determines that the drug is medically necessary, consistent with the prescriber's statement, and that the drug would be covered but for the fact that it is subject to cost utilization rules. 42 CFR Section 423.578(b). The statement must show that all of the covered drugs on any tier of the plan's formulary for treatment of the enrollee's condition would not be as effective as the drug at issue, or would have adverse effects for the enrollee. Parts C & D Enrollee Grievances, Organization/Coverage Determinations, and Appeals Guidance Manual, Section 40.5.3.The Part D Plan can only cover drugs prescribed for a medically accepted indication. The Plan requires prior approval (also called prior authorization) before covering some prescription drugs. If prior approval is not obtained, the Plan may not cover the drug. A Plan must grant an exception to prior approval rules if it determines that the requested drug is medically necessary, consistent with the prescriber's statement. Please refer to the Plan's Evidence of Coverage (EOC).A Part D drug must be used for a medically accepted indication that facilitates the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member (except for Part D vaccines). Consequently, if a drug works on medical equipment or devices and is not used for a medically accepted indication of therapeutic value on the body, it cannot satisfy the definition of a Part D drug. For example, a Heparin flush is not used to treat a patient for a medically accepted indication, but rather to dissolve possible blood clots around an infusion line. Therefore, Heparin's use in this instance is not therapeutic but is, instead, necessary to make durable medical equipment work. It would therefore not be a Part D drug when used in a Heparin flush. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Manual, Chapter 6, Section 10.6.