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.For a drug to be covered under Medicare Part D, it must meet the definition of a Part D drug. The Social Security Act generally defines a Part D drug as a drug product that meets the following requirements: - It requires a prescription for dispensing; and - It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safety and effectiveness; and - It is prescribed for a medically accepted indication; and - It is not otherwise excluded from coverage under Part D law and rules. See Social Security Act, Sections 1860D-2(e)(1) and 1927(k)(2)(A)(i)-(iii); and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Manual, Chapter 6, Section 10.1. The definition of a Part D drug includes only those prescription drugs that are approved by the FDA for safety and effectiveness. For a drug to be approved by the FDA, the manufacturer of the drug must file a New Drug Application (NDA) or Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Medicare Part D does not pay for drugs that are not FDA approved prescription drugs. See Social Security Act, Sections 1860D-2(e)(1), 1927(k)(2), and 1927(b)(3). The prescription drug benefit offered by the Part D Plan must meet certain 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. Part D sponsors are required to coordinate with other providers of prescription drug coverage with respect to the payment of premiums and coverage, as well as coverage supplementing the benefits available under Part D. The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) specified that these coordination requirements must relate to the following elements: (1) enrollment file sharing; (2) claims processing and payment; (3) claims reconciliation reports; (4) application of the protection against high out-of-pocket expenditures by tracking true out-of-pocket (TrOOP) expenditures; and (5) other processes that CMS determines. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Manual, Chapter 14, Section 20; Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Manual, Chapter 14, Appendix E.The Part D Plan enrollee may pay part of the cost of a covered drug during the initial coverage period as a copayment or coinsurance. The amount of the copayment or coinsurance will vary depending on the drug's tier and place of purchase. If an enrollee pays the full cost of a prescription, the enrollee may submit a request for reimbursement with proof of payment to ask the Plan to pay its share of the cost. The Plan requires a $47 copayment for up to a 30-day supply of a Tier 3 drug purchased in 2020 from a standard retail pharmacy. Oxycodone-Acetaminophen is on the Plan's 2020 formulary and is classified as a Tier 3 drug. The Plan contract states that they are required to follow rules set by Medicare to make sure that the enrollee is using all of their coverage in combination when they get covered drugs from the Plan. This is called coordination of benefits because it involves coordinating the drug benefits the enrollee gets from the Plan with any other drug benefits available. The Part D Plan limits coverage to drugs covered under Medicare Part D. The Plan does not cover drugs/items excluded from Medicare Part D coverage. If you purchase drugs/items that are excluded, you must pay for them yourself.Please refer to the Plan's Evidence of Coverage (EOC) and formulary.