Tesh Khullar Highlights Changes That Will Impact Reimbursement for Biosimilars

Tesh Khullar, senior vice president & advisor, Flatiron Health, outlines changes that could impact community oncologists when it comes to reimbursement for biosimilars.

Transcript

What are some policy changes that could impact community oncologists in terms of reimbursement for biosimilars?

What we’re seeing, and Amgen was the first one to do it, they went right to the payer. They went right to UnitedHealthcare and made sure not only branded Neulasta but their biosimialrs are a preferred therapy for UnitedHealthcare, which then dictated down to practices needing to utilize it for UnitedHealthcare patients. So, what you’re going to see, in my opinion, are biosimilars going to manufacturers, getting them on the formulary. It’s actually going to be a problem for community oncology. From a financial perspective it’s going to be an opportunity, but the logistical problems of having the brand of biosimilar different by payer is going to be an operational nightmare to manage.