Latest Update

July 27, 2012 - Webinar on Part I of the Survey of Retail Prices on July 26, 2012 

CMS hosted a webinar on Thursday, July 26, 2012 from 2PM-3:30PM (EDT) to discuss the draft methodology document for Part I of the Retail Community Pharmacy Consumer Prices.  We expect that this draft methodology will be used to develop a National Average of Retail Prices (NARP) file.

Here is a copy of the presentation that was reviewed at the webinar: (Slides from the July 26, 2012 webinar for Part I - Retail Community Pharmacy Consumer Prices)

A recording of the webinar will be available through August 2, 2012 at 11:59PM:

(USA) (800) 475-6701    
Access Code: 254443

If you have comments regarding the draft methodology for Part I, please forward them no later than August 17, 2012 to RPS@cms.hhs.gov.

CMS hopes to host an additional webinar on the retail price survey later this summer.  The topic will be the draft results for the National Average of Retail Prices (NARP) and the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) files.

Survey of Retail Prices: Payment and Utilization Rates and Performance Rankings

CMS entered into a contract with Myers & Stauffer, LC, to perform a survey entitled “Survey of Retail Prices: Payment and Utilization Rates and Performance Rankings”.  

The purpose of this initiative is to perform a monthly nationwide survey of retail community pharmacy prescription drug prices and to generate publicly available pricing files.  We expect that these pricing files will provide State Medicaid agencies with an array of covered outpatient drug prices concerning acquisition costs and consumer purchase prices.  The State agencies can use this information to compare their own pricing methodologies and payments to those derived from these surveys.

Please note that we are not including specialty pharmacies in the survey at this time.  We will continue to evaluate the inclusion of specialty pharmacies and make a subsequent determination whether specialty pharmacies will be included in the survey

The Survey of Retail Prices is divided into two parts.  

Part I - Retail Community Pharmacy Consumer Prices

Part I concerns a nationwide retail survey for collecting information about consumer prices.  A draft methodology document titled Part I:  Draft Methodology for Estimating National Average Retail Prices (NARP) for Medicaid Covered Outpatient Drugs has been developed to outline the processes to determine statistically valid consumer purchase prices for selected covered outpatient drugs that is based on actual, monthly market transactions, and will be posted on Medicaid.gov.  

This survey incorporates the collection of drug prices from retail community pharmacies and the calculation of consumer prices which will be maintained in a file of consumer unit drug prices.  These unit prices will be averaged to arrive at a NARP, which will be comprised of a statistically weighted average of three payment sources:  cash paying consumers, customers with commercial third party insurance, and Medicaid customers.  Each payment source has unit prices identified by their 11-digit National Drug Code (NDC).

PART II - Survey Of Drug Acquisition Costs Paid By Retail Community Pharmacies

Part II focuses on the retail community pharmacy acquisition costs. This segment provides for a survey of the purchase prices of all covered outpatient drugs by retail community pharmacies.  These pharmacies include independent community pharmacies and chain pharmacies.  We expect to update the prices on a weekly and monthly basis.  A draft methodology document titled Part II: Draft Methodology for Calculating the National Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) has been developed to outline the processes used to derive NADAC, taking into consideration any regional and pharmacy purchasing differences to obtain a statistically significant price for covered outpatient drugs.  The NADAC may be used as a reference price for States to consider when setting their reimbursement methodology.  

Collection of State Data

Under Part I, we will request State Medicaid Agencies to annually provide CMS with information on their prescription drug payment and utilization rates.  We expect to post a comparative ranking to the NARP collected in these surveys.

As a result of the NARP, an annual comparison will also be performed against the top 50 most widely prescribed Medicaid drugs.  These drugs will be determined for the previous Federal fiscal year (FFY), factoring in both utilization and cost.  All States, including the District of Columbia, will be ranked comparing their payment rates against the NARP, in a cost effective payment rate order.  Once the survey results have been finalized under Part II - NADAC, all States, including the District of Columbia, payment rates and the NARP will be ranked against the NADAC.

In addition to the single-source drug comparisons, each State will provide claim payment information to determine their generic drug utilization rates.  The ranking of the States’ generic utilization rates will be divided into two categories, generic claim utilization and generic total reimbursement.

Part I will also include a monthly new drug report that shows newly marketed single-source drugs that are currently generally available through wholesalers.  This will provide States the opportunity to identify newly available covered outpatient drug products to determine their coverage policy.

Archived Presentations:

Questions about the retail price survey?  Email RPS@cms.hhs.gov.

Page last updated on July 27, 2012