Health Affairs January 26, 2024
A persistent drug shortage crisis in the U.S. is associated with higher mortality rates, medication errors, delays in life-saving cancer treatment and other critical medical procedures, and significant financial costs to the health care system. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed new financial supports for hospitals to maintain larger “buffer stocks” of drugs at high risk of shortage or potentially in shortage as a short-term administrative reform to help reduce the impact of shortages; CMS is considering refinements to this proposal to avoid unintended consequences. While larger buffer stocks may reduce the immediate impact of some shortages, further reforms are likely needed to address the root causes of systemic, chronic shortages of many critical drugs.
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