Discrimination could come from opting not to cover prescription drugs, extreme utilization management protocols, coverage caps, increased coinsurance for patients, and discriminatory tiering and other formulary designs for high-cost medications.
ACR “strongly opposes excessive patient cost sharing that results in untenable patient financial burden, thereby creating a de facto situation in which the patient does not have access to a medically necessary treatment,” the organization wrote. “For patients with complex conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, biologic medications are very expensive and excessive cost sharing can reduce adherence and patient access to treatment, leading to risk for irreversible damage, excess morbidity, and even mortality.”
Dr. David I. Daikh
“The ACR is concerned that loosening these consumer protections will reduce our patients’ access to care, either through weaker coverage or by driving up their premiums,” ACR President David Daikh, MD, said in a statement. “Our patients require continuous access to specialized care to manage pain and avoid long-term disability. Therefore it is imperative that the administration ensure that Americans living with rheumatic diseases be afforded adequate protections under these new rules.”
The comment period for the proposed rule closed in early March. At press time, the Labor department had not published a timeline for publishing a final rule.