The public argument was about whether the programme should be made permanent. Statute settled that already: guidance authority expires after 2028, so rulemaking was compulsory. What was genuinely open for comment is narrower, and neither item led the coverage.

• Small biotech protection converts from exemption to floor, then expires. The exception from selection covered IPAY 2026 to 2028 and was not carried forward. From 2029 these drugs can be selected, protected only by a price floor that itself lapses after 2030. Model a 2031 cliff, not a carve-out.
• The subcutaneous reformulation route out of selection closes. From IPAY 2029, CMS would aggregate a co-formulated product with its parent under the same BLA holder, its example being active ingredient X plus hyaluronidase. Every subcutaneous antibody built to sit outside its intravenous parent’s selection perimeter is in scope.
• Bona Fide Marketing timing is where deselection now turns. CMS proposes revising the points at which it checks whether an approved generic or licensed biosimilar is actually marketed, and would keep monitoring it. With agreements signed by 28 February each cycle, that window sets the exit date. Model off the window, not the approval.