Sadly and surprisingly, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has sided with the bottom line of insurance companies and delivered devastating financial harm to patients — at a time when many simply cannot afford it.

The 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters should have put patients first. Instead, it will gut patient assistance programs and cancel out the co-pay coupons that millions are using to make up for the shortfalls of insurance design. As a result, patients will lose an essential tool that millions use to cut through the barriers to coverage.

We urge CMS to reconsider this flawed decision, and instead follow President Trump’s very clear direction to his administration: Lower patient out-of-pocket costs and enhance patient access to the treatments they need and deserve.