Many of his policies are unfavorable to the pharmaceutical industry and would involve dramatic changes.
“It’s up to the industry whether this is going to have to be a war or not,” Mr. Buttigieg told STAT.
Six policies included in Mr. Buttigieg’s plan, according to STAT:
- Similar to Nancy Pelosi’s bill, his plan would allow the HHS secretary to negotiate lower drug prices and penalize drugmakers who raise prices too high and refuse to negotiate.
- A drug company that refuses to negotiate with the HHS secretary would face a tax starting at 65 percent and going as high as 95 percent.
- The plan embraces a strategy called “march-in rights,” which would allow the government to approve generic drugs even when a brand-name drugmaker still has a valid patent.
- Generic and biosimilar drugs would be placed on the lowest insurance formulary tiers.
- Senior citizens’ out-of-pocket costs would be capped at $200 per month and $2,400 annually.
- Mr. Buttigieg has also mentioned cracking down on pay-for-delay patent settlements that allow brand-name drugmakers to pay generic drugmakers to delay bringing their drug to the market so the brand-name maker doesn’t have to face competition and lower its prices.
Read the full article here.
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