Medicare AWPs
Executive Summary
Health Care Financing Administration wants a report from all Medicare regional carriers on drug-pricing practices within 30 days, April 17 memo says. HCFA is performing an analysis of Medicare drug pricing "to determine whether and the extent to which contractor pricing actually varies," the memo states. Data on sources used by contractors to determine average wholesale price, methodologies to calculate 95% of AWP and actual Medicare-allowed amounts for all Medicare covered drugs are to be collected. HCFA adopted revised AWPs using wholesaler catalog prices compiled by the Department of Justice but later suspended implementation (1"The Pink Sheet" Nov. 27, 2000, p. 4)