Biden’s Medicare drug price plan is good medicine for Americans
The federal government operates three gigantic systems providing health care to millions of Americans. The
The
The prohibition from allowing Medicare to negotiate on drug prices was part of the original legislation when Medicare's Part D drug benefit was first approved by a
It took a long time, but the change finally came last year with President
Biden has now announced the first 10 drugs. The negotiations, by the
The billions saved by both the government and the patients are billions coming from their bank accounts. Higher prices mean higher profits. As for lower prices, that is something that they are not interested in. The first group of drugs are made by
Those pharmaceuticals do good work and deserve to be fairly compensated. We are committed capitalists and think that private companies are entitled to gain from their medical discoveries (even though a great deal of the research money is government funds). But should medicine for diabetes or heart disease cost a fortune?
One of the drugs on the list, Imbruvica, for blood cancer, runs
Big Pharma argues that since Medicare is such a big customer of their goods, it won't be a real negotiation but a dictate, laid down by Medicare without much back and forth. And since Medicare is the federal government, it would be akin to the government setting prices.
With their ample resources to wage this courtroom battle, the legal fight will eventually land in the
- New York Daily News Editorial Board/TNS
Medicaid Navigators and clients point to errors costing eligible people their insurance
Senate Appropriations Committee Issues Report on Appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, Related Agencies for FY 2024 – Title III (Part 7 of 12)
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News