Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: AARP Not Looking Out For Seniors' Best Interests; Trump's Price-Control Rules Will Be Disastrous
Boston Herald: AARP's Support For Drug Price Controls Hurts Seniors
After the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently unveiled its finalized proposal to lower prescription drug costs by passing on rebate discounts directly to Medicare patients, seniors would rightly expect the AARP to be supportive. According to the HHS, under the current rebate system: “Drug companies pay rebates and other payments to PBMs (pharmacy benefits managers), but these payments are not reflected in patient out-of-pocket drug costs.” (Jon Decker, 1/1)
Northwest Indiana Times: Trump's Final Act On Drug Prices Put Foreign IP Thieves Before American Patients
More than any other president in recent memory, President Trump defended American innovators against attacks by foreign governments. But sadly, in one of his last moves as president, he put foreign price controls on U.S. drugs. The Trump administration just announced new regulations that change how Medicare pays for prescription drugs. Up until now, this massive government health insurer paid for drugs in a free market setting. But under President Trump's new regulations, Medicare payments will be set based on prices paid by a group of other industrialized countries. All these countries have price controls in their national health care systems. (Adam Mossoff, 1/3)
Ncnewsonline.Com: Medicare Under A Biden Presidency
Now that the 2020 election is over (sort of) and the transition is taking place, the federal government is about to get much more involved in health care and the COVID-19 pandemic response. ... [President-elect Joe] Biden wants to reduce what Medicare beneficiaries pay for prescription drugs, notably by allowing the government to negotiate drug prices, currently prohibited by law. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated such a move would save $456 billion from 2023 through 2029. At the same time, though, the budget office report noted that negative effects may include reduced spending on research and development. Biden also would prohibit most drug prices from rising faster than inflation. (Joel Mekler, 1/4)
Pagosa Daily Post: A Prescription For US Health Care
Most would agree that 2020 was a year of grief, loss, and a long overdue reckoning with our nation’s history of racial injustice. But the year ended on a hopeful note: in the final weeks of the year, the Food and Drug Administration authorized two COVID-19 vaccines and the immunization of the American public began. The incoming Biden–Harris administration has pledged to provide the federal pandemic leadership that has been desperately needed since COVID-19 emerged. The administration also brings renewed hope for expanding access to affordable health care, which is critical to controlling the pandemic and restoring the economy. (David Blumenthal, Elizabeth Fowler and Rachel Nuzum, 1/4)
