Posted on 01/11/2019 3:24:29 PM PST by spintreebob
Lawmakers rushed into the drug pricing arena this week as they revived a bundle of legislation and oversight talks, signaling they want to put manufacturers in the hot seat when it comes to addressing healthcare costs.
Medicare negotiation was at the forefront of Democratic messaging with an unexpected Republican boost. Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) joined Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) to re-introduce legislation to allow the HHS secretary to directly barter with manufacturers on behalf of Medicare Part D. Rooney is the sole Republican to co-sponsor the bill so far.
On Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) revived the upper chamber's companion bill as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) held a press conference to tout this and other measures, promising an end to pharma "greed."
But it's unclear how aggressively Congress will end up legislating on the issue and how lawmaker action will play into HHS Secretary Alex Azar's proposal to tie Medicare Part B prices to the lower prices paid in other comparable countries.
One of the decisive figures in the upper chamber, Senate Finance Committee Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), told reporters on Wednesday that he remains opposed to direct government negotiation despite other vast areas where he sees himself working with Democrats on drug prices.
A key architect of the law that created Medicare Part D in 2003, Grassley said he will prioritize policies to modernize the program, with an eye on how manufacturers might be gaming the current system. But he emphasized that he doesn't want direct government negotiation with the private sector and doesn't see the need as Part D has consistently come in under budget.
"Going back for a full 10 years, [Part D] has basically come in under budget by about 40%," he said. "If it's working, don't mess with it."
But Grassley has yet to take a firm position on Azar's proposal for the international price index for Part B, telling reporters that he will discuss the policy with the secretary after the public comment period closes.
"Initially, I don't want foreign countries to set our drug prices," he said. "What can he do to modify that so that principle is not violated?"
Related to Azar's proposal, Sanders introduced his own coordinated effort with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would make the international benchmark policy law. Sanders promised he would do so at the end of last Congress.
Lawmakers also paved the way for industry oversight, as Grassley made it clear he will focus on anticompetitive issues with drugmakers.
He joins other key lawmakers with oversight jurisdiction. House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, on Thursday announced that his first hearing scheduled for Jan. 29 will focus on high drug prices.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who chairs the health subcommittee for oversight, told Modern Healthcare that he expects to call pharmaceutical executives before the panel as well.
Grassley threw his support for three additional bills that didn't make it through the last Congress. He is sponsoring a measure with Klobuchar to crack-down on manufacturer pay-to-delay tactics that stall generics from entering the market. The two senators also are reviving a measure championed by the late Sen. John McCain to allow people to import prescription drugs from Canada for their personal use.
He also plans to move the Creates Act, a joint effort with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last summer. Creates Act aims at expediting generic drugs and biosimilars to market but has faced opposition from the pharmaceutical trade group.
Receive large campaign donations from some of the big corporations. Mysteriously the some parts of the complex bill disappear or are rewritten so as to harm mostly the competition that did not donate money.
Do you think Nancy's husband is the only one who knows how to make money? Why do you think Nancy's fund raising ability keeps her in power?
Most of these "interrogators" take campaign contributions from pharmaceutical manufacturers. Does anyone really think they will in any way punish their donors?
This is all just bullshit.
in Illinois we called this a fetcher bill. Create a complex bill as a work in progress. Hint at targeted specific injuries to big moneyed corporationstionts”
The correct spelling is felCHER
These political hacks would be well advised to research the “cheaper” generics they’re promoting from third-world countries that aren’t being adequately inspected. Buyer beware. Your drugs are coming from Mexico, Costa Rica, China, India, etc. Each of us would be well advised to do our homework. What you’re taking could be causing you great harm.
https://dailyreckoning.com/the-scariest-thing-you-dont-know-about-generic-drugs/
“...The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is inspecting only a small number of the Chinese companies that manufacture U.S. drugs, and those it does inspect are often found to have serious health violations. Meanwhile, the drugs that are making their way into the United States from China, either as finished products or as ingredients, are often falling far below U.S. safety standards. And some of these drugs are not being inspected at all...”
Government interference in the health care and insurance markets caused the problems, and now they want more government to supposedly fix it. Rinse, repeat. Every time government attempts to “help”, it always makes things worse. In addition, it always benefits politicians and their cronies. Funny how that works.
I was on a drug during 2017 and it cost $300 for a 90 day supply. Doc took me off of it for all of 2018. He decided to put me back on it for 2019. Price came in at $900 for a 90 day supply. Stuck with replacement that is not quite as good but only cost about $180 for a 90 day supply.
Mass is going to be forced to Pay for the $24K drug that lets male homos to have unprotected sex, they were sued into it.
Medicare/Tricare Life, Ret. Military over 65 OVER PAYS for most drugs, exception is the low class generics. Even some of them are expensive. One is my 14 day antibiotic I use about 3 times a year for a bowel infection, regular antibiotics don’t work. $1,500+ Retail for 14 days 3 pills a day. My test strips are billed at $85 per 100. Not that they pay that much about $65. Way over priced.
Hubby earned it by spending 20 yrs under paid in the Navy. We pay plenty of Out of Pocket Expenses but not enough to bypass Obama’s rate hike for the IRS deductions. My Ruined teeth from FDA Approved Meds, only 11 lower the dental work has already reached the $5K mark and he’s not done, more bone spurs to remove before we get to 1 lower denture.
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