The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducts periodic studies on certain self-administered drugs or biologicals paid under the statutory payment limit and allows CMS to apply a “lesser of” methodology to the ASP calculation, if appropriate. The payment amount for the drug or biological billing code would be the lesser of 1 of these:
- The payment limit CMS determines using the current ASP+6% methodology
- The ASP+6% amount obtained by excluding the self-administered products identified in an OIG study
CMS calculates the ASP-based payment for billing codes that include certain self-administered products identified in a July 2020 OIG report using the lesser of methodology, as of July 1, 2021. This report identified certain versions of Orencia® and Cimzia®.
Starting with the July 2021 ASP Drug Pricing File, CMS applies the lesser of methodology to the payment limit calculations for billing and payment codes representing certolizumab pegol (J0717) and abatacept (J0129). CMS includes a notation of the lesser of methodology in the ASP Drug Pricing Files.