Self Administered Drugs (SADs) - JF Part A

The Medicare program provides limited benefits for outpatient prescription drugs. The program covers drugs that are furnished "incident-to" a physician's service provided that the drugs are not "usually self-administered" by the patient. Section 112 of the Benefits, Improvements & Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA), amended §§1861(s)(2)(A) and 1861(s)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to redefine this exclusion. The prior statutory language referred to those drugs "which cannot be self-administered by the patient." Implementation of the BIPA provision requires interpretation of the phrase "not usually self-administered" by the patient.

The most current version of the Self-Administered Drug Exclusion List is available on the Medicare Coverage Database (MCD).