On May 17, 2019, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final Medicare Part D Rule, where they decided to preserve the original Six Protected Classes policy. GO2 for Lung Cancer (formerly Lung Cancer Alliance and the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation) advocated to stop the initial proposal that would have excluded certain drugs, including the Six Protected Classes from the Medicare Plan formularies.

The Six Protected Classes policy was established over a decade ago to ensure Part D plans covered substantially all drugs for beneficiaries with certain chronic conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and organ transplants, to not delay access to lifesaving medicines for those patients living with serious conditions.

“Working to ensure our community has access to the highest quality of care, no matter where they are in their lung cancer journey has always been our mantra. “This policy win represents this credo in action, said Laurie Fenton Ambrose. Co-Founder, President and CEO. Co-Founder & CEO.

We applaud CMS and the administration for listening to patient voices in preserving the Six Protected Classes. As CMS moves forward with the finalized rule, GO2 for Lung Cancer will continue to closely monitor implementation of this rule and raise our voices collectively with other leading national advocacy organizations to ensure cancer patients have timely access to new, innovative lifesaving therapies.