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On January 19, 2017, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) unveiled a new drug designation process for regenerative advanced therapies, an important first step toward implementation of the regenerative medicine provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act.  Products for which a designation as a regenerative advanced therapy (“RAT”) is obtained are eligible for accelerated approval under the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law by former President Obama on December 13, 2016 with sweeping bipartisan support.

The accelerated approval provisions for RATs under the 21st Century Cures Act are intended to facilitate expedited review and approval of stem cell therapies and other cellular and tissue products for use in serious or life threatening diseases, which are currently subject to regulation as unapproved drugs. Under the 21st Century Cures Act, regenerative medicine therapies eligible for a RAT designation may include any “cell therapy, therapeutic tissue engineering product, human cell and tissue product, or any combination product using such therapies or products, except for those products regulated solely under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (“PHS”), and part 1271 of Title 21, Code of Federal regulations.”[1]

Under the 21st Century Cures Act, the sponsor of a product must show the following to be eligible for a RAT designation:

  • The drug is a regenerative medicine therapy;
  • The drug is intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition;[2] and
  • Preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such disease or condition.

Pursuant to the FDA website on the Regenerative Advanced Therapy Designation, a sponsor requesting a RAT designation for its product must make such a request either concurrently with submission of an Investigational New Drug application (“IND”), or as an amendment to an existing IND. Consistent with requests for fast track and breakthrough therapy designations, the FDA only requires that a sponsor describe the preliminary clinical evidence that supports a RAT designation, and does not require the sponsor to submit primary data.  Information that will be considered includes: a description of any available therapies for the disease or condition already in existence, the study design, the population studied, the endpoints used, and a description of the study results and statistical analyses.

The RAT designation process will be overseen by the newly created Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies (OTAT). The OTAT will manage the application process for RAT designation, and will notify the sponsor within 60 days of receiving an application as to whether the RAT designation is granted. If a sponsor does not receive a RAT designation for its product the OTAT will provide an explanation in writing of its rationale for the denial.

A sponsor that obtains a RAT designation for its product is entitled to meet with the FDA early in its development program to discuss the potential use of surrogate or intermediate endpoints that may be used to support accelerated approval of the product. RATs may be eligible for accelerated approval based upon surrogate or intermediate endpoints reasonably likely to predict a long-term clinical benefit, and based on data obtained from a “meaningful number of sites” with subsequent expansion to additional sites, along with the collection of additional data in the post-market phase.

The implementation of the RAT designation process will enable manufacturers to begin to take advantage of the less burdensome review process enabled by the 21st Century Cures Act.  While some patient advocates have expressed concern that the availability of an accelerated approval pathway for regenerative medicine products may impede the development of robust evidence establishing their safety and effectiveness, and may ultimately result in patient harm, 21st Century Cures’ accelerated approval provisions are likely to be a harbinger of a new wave of regenerative medicine therapies that provide additional options for patients facing serious or life threatening conditions.

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[1] 21st Century Cures Act Sec., Sec. 3033(8).  Human Cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps) are regulated solely under section 361 of the PHS Act and the regulations of 21 C.F.R. Part 1271 if all of the following criteria are met: the HCT/P is minimally manipulated, intended for homologous use (as reflected in labeling and advertising), is not manufactured by combining cells or tissues with another article, except for water, crystalloids, or a sterilizing, preserving or storage agent, and does not have a systemic effect nor is dependent upon the metabolic activity of living cells for its primary function. Therefore, if a product meets all of the aforementioned criteria, the HCT/P will still be regulated under 21 C.F.R. Part 1271 and will not be subject to regulation as a drug product.

[2] The FDA will use its standard definitions found in its Expedited Program Guidance as a guide to determining whether a product meets the required criteria, such as whether a condition is “serious or life-threatening” or whether a drug is “intended to treat a serious disease or condition.”

Our colleagues Joshua A. Stein and Frank C. Morris, Jr., at Epstein Becker Green have a post on the Health Employment And Labor blog that will be of interest to many of our readers: “The U.S. Access-Board Releases Long-Awaited Final Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment Standards.”

Following is an excerpt:

As part of a flurry of activity in the final days of the Obama Administration, the U.S. the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the “Access Board”) has finally announced the release of its Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment (the “MDE Standards”).  Published in the Federal Register on Monday, January 9, 2017, the MDE Standards are a set of design criteria intended to provide individuals with disabilities access to medical diagnostic equipment such as examination tables and chairs (including those used for dental or optical exams), weight scales, radiological equipment, mammography equipment and other equipment used by health professionals for diagnostic purposes. …

Read the full post here.

Recent federal and state legislative efforts signal an increased focus on a significant and largely underappreciated public health threat – antimicrobial resistance (i.e., when a microorganism (such as a bacteria or virus) is able to resist the effects of medications such as antibiotics and antivirals, causing such medications to be ineffective). The results of a 2014 study underscore the magnitude of the threat of so-called “superbugs,” estimating that the number of deaths worldwide attributable to antimicrobial resistance will reach 10 million by 2050.  By comparison, the same study projected 8.2 million deaths from cancer, and 1.2 million deaths from traffic accidents by 2050.  Legislative efforts to address antimicrobial resistance span from encouraging development of new pathways to market for antimicrobial drugs to expanding data collection and monitoring efforts to better understand the scope of the problem.  The combination of new data and less-restrictive pathways to market simultaneously provide pharmaceutical companies with a faster entry into the market for antimicrobial drugs and a better understanding by local health departments and hospitals of the need for new drugs to combat resistant strains of microorganisms.

Federal Initiatives

On the federal side, the 21st Century Cures Act (the “Act”), signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2016, includes several measures related to antimicrobial resistance.  For example, the Act creates a new approval pathway for “limited population drugs,” which are antibacterial or antifungal drugs “intended to treat a serious or life-threatening infection in a limited population of patients with unmet needs.” While the Act allows FDA to approve limited population drugs with less data than typically would be required, the approval is restricted to “the intended limited population,” and the manufacturer must meet additional labeling requirements to inform physicians of the drug’s limited approved use.  In addition, manufacturers of drugs approved through this pathway are required to submit any promotional materials to FDA at least 30 days before they plan to use them.

While adding specific labeling requirements for new drugs approved for limited populations, the Act also changes labeling requirements for susceptibility test interpretive criteria. Susceptibility test interpretive criteria includes the myriad of testing options used to determine whether a patient is infected with a specific microorganism or class of microorganism that can effectively be treated by a drug.  The Act requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to replace the currently existing susceptibility test interpretive criteria from the drug’s packaged insert or labeling with a reference to a FDA website to be built where such criteria for all drugs will be held.  Manufacturers have one year from the day the website is established to move its susceptibility test interpretive criteria to the so-called “Interpretive Criteria Website.”

The Act also increases monitoring and reporting of antimicrobial drug use and antimicrobial resistance at federal healthcare facilities, like VA hospitals and facilities run through the Indian Health Service or the Department of Defense. Further, it requires annual federal data reporting on aggregate national and regional trends related to antimicrobial resistance. A broad base of reliable data on antimicrobial resistance and the associated morbidity and mortality does not currently exist. However, along with the federal government, certain states are also making efforts to improve data collection in this space.

State Initiatives

Many states receive funding from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to collect data about patients with extremely resistant strains of microoganisms, like carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriacea, or “CRE” – a bacteria that kills an estimated 600 Americans each year. The Illinois Department of Health, for example, developed a registry in 2014 that tracks positive lab tests for extremely drug-resistant organisms, including CRE.  Illinois began tracking this information following a deadly outbreak of CRE in 2013.  Health care facilities participating in the registry receive alerts when an infected patient is transferred in and must report CRE-positive culture results of patients within seven calendar days.  The most recent annual report shows a 7% increase in overall cases; however, a recent article posits that the increase may be somewhat attributable to better reporting efforts by hospitals gaining experience identifying CRE.  Similar programs exist in many states, but these programs typically do not track the outcomes of CRE cases.

A recently proposed bill in California (California Senate Bill 43) would require hospitals to include information within death certificates that identifies whether “any antimicrobial-resistant infection…was a factor in the death.”  Specifically, the bill would require the “attending physician [who] is legally obligated to file a certificate of death” to determine whether, in the physician’s professional judgment, an antimicrobial-resistant infection was a factor in the patient’s death.  State law already mandates tracking of over 80 communicable diseases, like HIV and Hepatitis (A-E), but only tracks antibiotic-resistant infections of VRE and MRSA if they are contracted while a patient is already in the hospital.

Given the magnitude of the potential threat, it is reassuring that legislative initiatives are showing an increased focus on antimicrobial resistance. New pathways to market for antimicrobial drugs and increased public awareness of the rising threat of “superbugs” should lead to additional innovation by drug manufacturers.  The limited population pathway may also cause some manufacturers to reassess their pipelines and strategies to market drugs toward limited populations.  For manufacturers facing expensive and burdensome FDA requirements to market new antimicrobials to a general population, the limited population pathway may provide a cheaper and faster entry into the market.  Early entry into the market can then fund additional efforts expand the label beyond a limited population.

In its recent decision in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell,[1] the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Obama administration’s payment of cost-sharing subsidies for enrollees in plans offered through the Affordable Care Act’s Exchanges is unauthorized for lack of Congressional appropriation. The decision would affect future cost-sharing subsidies, though the court immediately stayed the decision pending its outcome on appeal.[2]

In its decision, the court found in favor of the members of the House of Representatives, based upon its interpretation of the applicable law. Specifically, the court found that, when Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, including Sections 1401 (premium subsidies) and 1402 (cost-sharing subsidies), it permanently appropriated funds for the former but not the latter.

The court examined prior Office of Management and Budget submissions to the House Appropriations Committee, finding that the administration had explicitly acknowledged the lack of appropriated funds for the cost-sharing reduction payments. After the Republican-controlled Congress declined the administration’s appropriations requests for the cost-sharing reduction funds, President Obama signed an appropriations bill without it. Treasury subsequently paid the cost-sharing subsidies to issuers without an appropriation. As of December 2015, 56.4% of Exchange plan enrollees were receiving the subsidies.[3]

The court rejected the administration’s arguments that, under King v. Burwell, the Act must be read for its intended effect. While King identified “three key reforms”—guaranteed coverage and community rating, individual mandate and premium tax credits—the court found that King did not treat the section 1402 cost-sharing reduction provisions as integral to those reforms. Moreover, King found the Exchange statute nonfunctional due to drafting failure and thus in need of saving. By contrast, the district court found that, here, Congress’s simple failure to appropriate cannot be remedied by a court.

The case will almost certainly be appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ultimately, if the ruling is affirmed, absent a Congressional fix, new legal problems would arise for the Affordable Care Act’s Exchanges. Regardless of an appropriation, the Act still requires issuers to reduce cost-sharing for eligible enrollees, which would likely shield consumers but leave issuers financially exposed.

Moreover, notwithstanding the apparent lack of appropriation, the Act requires the government to pay issuers for the cost-sharing subsidies. This raises questions concerning the government’s ability to recoup payments already made. Should the government elect to discontinue the payments going forward, issuers could seek legal redress.

Notably, an affirmation of the district court could impact Exchange premiums. Many issuers have already raised premium rates for 2017, citing a high proportion of costlier, sicker enrollees. Should the courts ultimately place the burden on issuers to subsidize cost sharing, these costs are also likely to be shifted to premiums.

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[1] House of Representatives v. Burwell, No. 14-1967 (D.D.C. May 12, 2016), available at https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2014cv1967-73.

[2] In an earlier, controversial ruling in this proceeding, the same court allowed members of the Republican majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to proceed with the suit against the Secretaries of Treasury and Health and Human Services. The administration had argued that the House members did not standing to sue, but the court disagreed and declined to dismiss the suit.

[3] According to CMS, as of December 31, 2015, the ten highest states by percentage of Exchange plan enrollees receiving cost sharing subsidies were Mississippi (76.7%), Alabama (72.2%), Florida (70.1%), Georgia (68.1%), Hawaii (67.90%), North Carolina (63.9%), South Dakota (63.3%), Idaho (62.9%), Tennessee (62.7%) and Utah (62.6%). See CMS, Effectuated Enrollment Snapshot (Mar. 11, 2016), https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2016-Fact-sheets-items/2016-03-11.html.

On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which became effective immediately. The DTSA provides the first private federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation, and it allows parties to sue in federal court for trade secret misappropriation—regardless of the dollar value of the trade secrets at issue.   Employers in the health care and life science industry may want to note that the DTSA

requires that employers provide certain notices of these whistleblower protections in employment-related agreements that govern trade secrets or other confidential information entered into or amended after May 11, 2016.

For more information, please see the Trade Secrets & Noncompete Blog here.

In its Fiscal Year 2017 Private Insurance Legislative Proposals, President Obama’s Budget contains a provision seeking to “eliminate surprise out-of-network healthcare charges for privately insured patients.” Described as an attempt to “promote transparency on price, cost, and billing for consumers,” this measure requires hospitals and physicians to collaborate so that patients receiving treatment at in‐network facilities do not face unexpected charges from out‐of‐network practitioners. This provision could have far-reaching effects, potentially impacting enrollees in traditional commercial plans, Exchange plans and government plans (such as Medicare Advantage plans).

A surprise bill situation arises when patients incur unexpected, out‐of‐network charges when receiving health care services at an “in-network” or “participating” hospital. For example, a surprise bill may arise from a situation where certain physicians (e.g., anesthesiologists or emergency room physicians) who provide services to the patient during an episode of care are not participating with a health plan, even if other providers who see the patient and the hospital itself are participating. In such scenarios, the non-participating providers may charge patients for both cost sharing and any unpaid balances for those specific services, as if the patient had gone to an “out-of-network” or “non-participating” provider.

The proposal in the Budget would change that and require hospitals and physicians to “work together to ensure that patients receiving treatment at in‐network facilities do not face unexpected out‐of‐network charges from out‐of‐network practitioners that cannot be avoided by the patient.” This would be accomplished by requiring hospitals to take “reasonable steps” to match patients with providers who are considered in‐network for the patient’s plan. Also, all physicians who regularly provide services in hospitals would be required to accept the contracted, in‐network rate as payment‐in‐full, even though no actual contract is in place. Thus, in situations where a hospital failed to match a patient to an in‐network provider, safeguards would still be in place to protect the patient from surprise out‐of‐network charges. How such amount would be calculated and enforced is not yet clear at this stage.

On a state level, legislation has been passed that affords patients protections against surprise bills in California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Maryland, West Virginia and New Jersey, but the state with the most rigorous protections is New York. A New York law went into effect in March 2015, protecting patients from surprise bills when services are performed by a non-participating doctor at a participating hospital or ambulatory surgical center or when a participating doctor refers an insured patient to a non-participating provider (the law also protects consumers from bills for emergency services).

Many particulars regarding the proposal in the Budget remain unclear, as limited information was presented around the proposed provision. Besides the need for legislative action, specific questions exist around what standards would be used for calculating new payment rates, implementation and enforcement mechanisms, provider appeal and dispute resolution processes, managed care contracting implications, state versus federal jurisdictional issues and impacts on plan premium pricing. However, what is clear is that the federal government has begun to follow states’ leads in introducing protections for patients from unforeseen medical expenses.

House Republican leaders introduced legislation on Monday, finalizing a two-year budget agreement between Congressional leaders and the White House. This legislation is currently being considered and may be up for a vote as early as Wednesday on the bipartisan budget deal.

Hospitals should note the language in Section 603 (which is on pages 35-39 of the draft bill) codifies the definition of a “provider-based off-campus hospital outpatient department” (PBD HOPD) as a location that is not on the main campus of a hospital and is located more 250 yards from the main campus.  The section defines a “new” PBD HOPD as an entity that executes a CMS provider agreement after the date of enactment of the Act and that any NEW PBD HOPD executing a provider agreement after the date of enactment would not be eligible for reimbursements from CMS’ Outpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS).

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

Section-by-Section Summary

We encourage hospitals to reach out to their delegation if they are concerned with any of these provisions.

firm_sgersonIn a split decision announced today, June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court, in King v. Burwell, ruled in upholding the tax credits to individuals in all states, including those with only a federal exchange.  In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court.

“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter. Section 36B can fairly be read consistent with what we see as Congress’s plan, and that is the reading we adopt.”

This is one of the rare times that my prediction (6-3 with Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy joining the liberals, affirming the 4th Circuit) has been accurate.  I note that the case was decided on statutory construction grounds and so is much more important as an statutory interpretation and administrative law case than it is as a health care case. In sum, the subsidies were upheld as to economically-eligible persons in all states, whether their exchanges are State exchanges or Federal exchanges. The Court held that the term “State” in the provision at issue was, in context, ambiguous. It declined Chevron deference but held that in the total context of the statute and what Congress was trying to establish, the whole ACA scheme would collapse if the subsidies/tax credits were not available. This is an important win for the Administration and for health insurers and their customers because the decision in King won’t, in itself, require rate increases and open season can go forward without a hitch. Context wins over text.

By Evan J. Nagler

The State of the Union Address, scheduled for January 20, 2015, will contain new initiatives related to privacy, White House officials say. The known initiatives are the introduction of a data breach reporting bill, a bill restricting the sale of student information, and a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

SETTING A NATIONAL DATA BREACH REPORTING STANDARD

President Obama is planning on introducing a data breach bill that would standardize the reporting period nationwide at 30 days. The proposed Personal Data Notification and Protection Act would require direct customer notification. The law would also criminalize selling consumer identities overseas.

Presently, most states have their own consumer data protection laws requiring customer notification in the event of a breach. The new bill may preempt stricter state laws such as California’s 5-day window for reporting.

RESTRICTING THE USE OF STUDENT DATA

The White House will also propose the Student Digital Privacy Act, based on a California law passed last September. The main purpose of the bill is to restrict the sale of student data for use unrelated to education as well as restricting targeted advertising based on school-collected data. The bill seeks to restrict commercial uses while at the same time ensuring that outcome-based studies are allowed to continue.

ENACTING THE CONSUMER PRIVACY BILL OF RIGHTS

In 2012, the White House revealed plans for a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. This white paper laid out a set of seven guiding principles for consumer privacy (see Appendix A of the linked PDF). After receiving and incorporating suggestions during the last three years, the President will reportedly ask Congress to enact a revised Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights into law. The bill would ensure more control over personal data for individuals, more closely in line with the rules in place in the European Union.

STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES

As more information is released regarding the President’s privacy and security plans, we will cover it here, so check back in the coming days.


Stakeholders received insight on the Obama administration’s expected approach to the certification and oversight of qualified health plans (“QHPs”) late Friday, December 19, 2014, with the release by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) of its Draft 2016 Letter to Issuers in the Federally-facilitated Marketplaces (“Draft Letter”). This annual release comes more than a month earlier than the release of the 2015 version of this document.

While the Draft Letter largely mirrors the provisions of its 2015 predecessor, or restates earlier proposals, CMS does include several significant changes in approach for the 2016 application cycle. These changes include the use of an earlier timeline for application submission, review, and approval, as well as a more extensive review of benefit offerings for compliance with non-discrimination requirements.

That same day, the administration, through the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (collectively, “Departments”) released a proposed amendment to expand federal regulations on excepted benefits to exempt wraparound coverage offered by group health plans from specific Affordable Care Act market-wide health insurance reform requirements (“Proposed Rule”).

The Draft Letter speaks specifically to issuers seeking to offer QHPs in the individual and small group markets through the Federally-facilitated Marketplaces.  However, issuers seeking to offer coverage in State-based Marketplaces and outside the Marketplace should also closely review this guidance for insights into CMS’s perspective on market-wide provisions discussed in the context of QHPs.  The Proposed Rule addresses small and large employer group health insurance offerings.

CMS is accepting comments on the Draft Letter through January 12, 2015. The Departments are accepting comments on the Proposed Rule through January 22, 2015.