Here are four things to know:
1. The Trump administration’s plan would test ways to lower costs for drugs directly administered in hospitals by using an “international pricing index” to keep prices more in line with the lower prices paid in many other developed countries for the same drug. The index would be used as benchmark to decide how much Medicare would pay for drugs covered by Part B, which covers physician visits for seniors and drugs prescribed to them during their visits.
2. In addition, the plan would encourage more private sector negotiations between vendors, physicians and drugmakers.
3. The pharmaceutical lobbying group representing big pharma, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, was the first to object to the proposal, comparing it to government price controls and socialized medicine.
4. Physicians and hospitals are also worried their patients will lose access to critical medications, according to Politico.
Ted Okon, head of the Community Oncology Alliance, a group of cancer providers and drug industry supporters, is worried the Trump administration’s proposal would introduce “middlemen” into Medicare Part B that will lead to delays in treatment or denials in care.
Read the full report here.
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