WASHINGTON — Two powerful Senate lawmakers laid out an unexpectedly ambitious plan to lower the price of prescription drugs Thursday.
It came as part of a highly anticipated health care package from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the duo that helms the Senate health committee that is widely respected for bipartisan health-policy work.
As recently as Wednesday, aides and lobbyists said the package would be more focused on surprise medical bills than on drug pricing; they expected any policies aimed at the latter issue to be small, targeted, and uncontroversial.
I don’t agree. Read https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/dna-ancestry-test-siblings-different-results-genetics-science/
These legislation proposals are just window dressing on the real issues affecting healthcare costs. Insurance companies have been the real drivers of these costs. Just look at the profit margins and the salaries and bonuses of their CEO’s compared to other industries.
They also need to include that PBMs must respond to MAC appeals within 72 hours and indicate how they arrived at the Mac price. Pharmacies should not have to sell prescriptions below cost
Spread pricing must be stopped and PBMs should reimburse all pharmacies same as their own pharmacies. Or PBMs and insurance companies should not have a right to own pharmacies because conflict of interest. Transparency is must, how PBMs do their business (corruption).
Pharma calls the PBM’s the Maffia of the drug industry! D.O.J never should have allowed CVS the drug chain to buy CAREMARK the PBM. Did they not see a conflict of interest or were they just stupid ??????
Interesting challenge for our legislators. Would this bill stay intact or get watered down to the point of being meaning less effort. Lobbyists will eat this in its raw form as a rare steak.