Biosimilars Forum Still Pushing for Unique J-Codes

The Biosimilars Forum is still advocating for unique Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes, or J-Codes, for every single biosimilar product. The organization released a letter on Sept. 8, 2015 to Andrew Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), explicating that it is Congress’ intent for biosimilars to have unique billing codes. The forum says that text in the Social Security Act and in the Affordable Care Act legislation directly refers to each biosimilar as a separate entity. Thus, the forum argues, repeated references of a biosimilar in its singular form in official documents imply that each biosimilar was meant to have a separate J-code.

For more on this BioPharm International story, click here.