Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Rep Nancy Pelosi (D, California) have confirmed the demise of the Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model experiment to cut margins paid to physicians on some of the most expensive drugs and introduce private-sector thinking into drug purchasing and pricing systems.

The proposed model had drawn strenuous broadsides from the medical community, including the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which contended that the revision of the drug payment formula would have left physicians financially underwater on many drugs.

“While the proposed Medicare Part B demonstration had admirable goals, our members raised a number of concerns, and we are pleased the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation [CMMI] has decided not to move forward,” Pelosi said in a statement.

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