Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Releases Final 2006 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule, Competitive Acquisition Program Interim Final Rule

On November 2, 2005, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule revising payment rates and policies under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for calendar year 2006.1 The MPFS final rule deals partly with the new Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) for drugs and biologicals covered by Medicare Part B. CMS also released a separate CAP interim final rule on one discrete issue: whether manufacturers’ prices to CAP vendors are included in Average Sales Price (ASP) calculations.2 This client advisory briefly summarizes key provisions in the MPFS final rule concerning payments for drugs and biologicals, and also briefly summarizes the CAP interim final rule.