Bluebird, Vertex/CRISPR’s SCD Gene Therapies Get New CMS Payment Model

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it has arrived at agreements with bluebird bio and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, securing their participation in a new voluntary payment model to improve access to gene therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD).

The outcomes-based arrangement aims to boost uptake of these gene therapies while also increasing their accessibility. Payments will be tied to improvements in health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries receiving the treatments. CMS did not specify what these outcomes are or how it plans to measure improvements.