Payer CMMI’s Adam Boehler: Why CMS is taking a ‘practical approach’ to drug pricing

CMS’ innovation center has unveiled several new payment models in recent months, but none has sparked quite the reaction of one of the center’s latest models for drugs, the International Pricing Index.

Medicare beneficiaries may not understand the finer points of financial risk or population health management, said Adam Boehler, deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and director of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.

But they sure understand when they hear that prices for drugs in the U.S. can be as much as four or five or six times higher than those in developed countries, Boehler said.