The Office of Inspector General under the Health and Human Services Department announced a delay in the effective date of certain changes to the regulations that protect against kickbacks in the pharmaceutical industry. These changes, initially set to take effect on January 1, 2022, involve the removal of safe harbor protection for certain rebates on prescription drugs, and the creation of new protections for reductions in prices at the point of sale and for fixed fees paid to pharmacy benefit managers. The new effective date for these amendments is now January 1, 2023, following a court order. This action was taken without public comment due to a court-ordered mandate.
Simple Explanation
The government is changing some rules about how money is handled with medicine rebates, but a judge said they need to wait a little longer before starting. Now, the new plan will start in 2023 instead of 2022.