Medicare Part D’s six protected classes

Since Medicare Part D was created, seniors and people living with disabilities have been assured appropriate access to six specific classes of medicines (also known as the protected classes). The six protected classes help ensure patient access to medications, which in turn helps them maintain their often extensive or complicated treatments associated with diseases like:

• HIV
• mental illness
• cancer
• epilepsy
• those undergoing organ transplantation

This important policy allows patients to access, “all or substantially all” medications within these categories regardless of price, which gives patients the critical ability to maintain specific drug regimens prescribed by their doctors. Further, this access helps ensure patients are adherent to the medicines they need to manage chronic conditions and live longer, healthier lives.