The U.S. Senate is expected today to confirm Chiquita Brooks-LaSure’s nomination to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), clearing the way for the swearing in of another key Biden administration official with influence touching on the 340B program.
Brooks-LaSure’s confirmation has been held up over Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) displeasure with the administration for revoking CMS’s 10-year extension of a state Medicaid waiver during the Trump administration’s final days.
CMS does not control federal 340B program policy. It does, however, control the Medicaid drug rebate program, decisions about which can have a big impact on 340B. CMS also controls Medicare drug reimbursement. Hospitals continue to fight CMS’s decision under Trump to cut by almost 30% Medicare Part B reimbursement for 340B purchased drugs.
