AAPP joined its coalition partners in the Partnership for Part D Access urging congressional leaders to oppose the CMS Guarding U.S. Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs (GUARD) Model and defend Medicare’s six protected classes policy. Congress established the six protected classes to ensure that seniors and people with disabilities can access the full range of medications for serious conditions, including cancer, HIV, neurological disorders like epilepsy and Parkinson’s, mental illness, and organ transplant rejection based on the knowledge that treatment for these conditions are often not interchangeable and uninterrupted access is essential. Though the coalition supports improved affordability in Medicare Part D, the letter outlines how the GUARD Model threatens that stability with increased costs to beneficiaries, weakened access, and threats to continued medical innovation. Please join a virtual policy briefing, Protecting Access: Why the Part D Six Protected Classes Matter, on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET to learn more.