Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have introduced a bill that would require the prompt payment of electronic and paper claims under the Medicare drug benefit, Health Data Management reports.
The Pharmacy Access Improvement Act of 2007 (S 1954) would require Medicare Part D claims submitted electronically to be paid within 15 days. The bill also would require Part D drug plans to pay electronically submitted claims via electronic fund transfers if requested by the pharmacy. Under the legislation, paper claims would have to be paid within 30 days.
Slow payments by drug benefit plans have caused many community pharmacies to take out loans to maintain cash flow, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.
In addition, the bill would require Medicare prescription drug plans to disclose the price of a contract and change how in-network pharmacies are calculated to gain a more accurate analysis of access to pharmacies participating in Medicare Part D (Health Data Management, 8/6).