The MERIT Act ensures that new drugs will receive fair and accurate consideration for Medicare coverage as opposed to the arduous additional steps CMS currently requires. It also prevents CMS from restricting entire classes of drug therapies.
October 13, 2022
The Honorable Vern Buchanan
16th Congressional District of Florida
2110 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Buchanan,
On behalf of the 2.2 million members of AMAC – the Association of Mature American Citizens, including nearly 11,000 residing in FL-16, I write to offer our support for the ”Mandating Exclusive Review of Individual Treatments (MERIT) Act.”
As an organization comprised of many members who are also Medicare beneficiaries, the approval of new potentially life-saving therapies is one of the biggest advocacy priorities for AMAC Action. AMAC members, and other mature Americans, deserve the latest in therapeutics delivered in the most time efficient manner as possible.
Your bill requires the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare services (CMS) to review each drug individually and addresses the actions taken by CMS that limited access to the FDA-approved Alzheimer’s disease drug, Aduhelm, as well as other medications in the same therapeutic class that are currently in clinical trials. The MERIT Act ensures that other drugs like Aduhelm, and showing promising data, will receive fair and accurate consideration for coverage as opposed to the arduous additional steps CMS currently requires.
Furthermore, the Biden Administration burdened America’s seniors with the highest increase in Medicare history when Part B premiums rose earlier this year. This increase was said to be in anticipation of paying for new Alzheimer’s disease therapy and the Administration must deliver on these new drugs that are on the horizon.
Thank you, Congressman Buchanan, for introducing bipartisan legislation that reels in the wide net cast by CMS that restricts access to an entire class of drugs. AMAC agrees that Medicare beneficiaries should have easy access to novel, innovative drug therapies and we are pleased to offer our organization’s full support for the ”Mandating Exclusive Review of Individual Treatments (MERIT) Act.”
Sincerely,
Bob Carlstrom
President
AMAC Action
Copyright © 2024 AMAC, Inc. / AMAC Senior Resources Network. All rights reserved.
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I think this is a good time to mention that during the pandemic some drugs were demonized for no reason other than fake political opinions. Drugs like ivermectin could have saved countless lives if it were allowed to be used for this purpose. Now, we will never know.
I think this is a good time to mention that during the pandemic some drugs were demonized for no reason other than fake political opinions. Drugs like ivermectin could have saved countless lives if it were allowed to be used for this purpose. Now, we will never know.