§ 423.279 National average monthly bid amount.

(a) Bids included. For each year (beginning with 2006) CMS computes a national average monthly bid amount from approved bids submitted under § 423.265 in order to calculate the base beneficiary premium, as provided in § 423.286(c). The national average monthly bid amount is equal to a weighted average of the standardized bid amounts for each prescription drug plan (not including fallbacks) and for each MA-PD plan described in section 1851(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Act. The calculation does not include bids submitted by MSA plans, MA private fee-for-service plans, specialized MA plans for special needs individuals, PACE programs under section 1894, and contracts under reasonable cost reimbursement contracts under section 1876(h) of the Act.