With prescription drug prices continuing to strain state budgets, the National Governors Association is planning a meeting later this year to explore strategies for lowering costs, notably for hepatitis C drugs. And payers and drug makers will be invited, according to one state official familiar with the plan.
Details have not been disclosed, but the effort reflects ongoing concern that some medicines remain out of reach for people who rely on cash-strapped state Medicaid programs, according to Dr. Rebekah Gee, the Louisiana Department of Health secretary, who has been involved in the planning.
“There’s great interest from many states to meet in order to solve this problem,” she told us. “The challenge is not to just look at marginal discounts or tweaks in pricing, but a fundamental shift in the paradigm for drug prices, especially those (illnesses) that have a high incident (rate) and have disproportionately large impacts on Medicaid.”
About the Author Reprints
That should be a total waste of time and yield nothing.