Trump Proposes Tying The Amount The Government Pays For Certain Drugs To Their Cost In Other Countries
President Donald Trump says his plan will take aim at "global freeloading" with his plan, which would run essentially as a pilot program within the Medicare Part B program. "Same company. Same box. Same pill. Made in the exact same location, and you would go to some countries and it would be 20 percent of the cost of what we pay," he said.
The New York Times:
Trump Proposes To Lower Drug Prices By Basing Them On Other Countries’ Costs
President Trump proposed on Thursday that Medicare pay for certain prescription drugs based on the prices paid in other advanced industrial countries — a huge change that could save money for the government and for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. As part of a demonstration project covering half the country, Medicare would establish an “international pricing index” and use it as a benchmark in deciding how much to pay for drugs covered by Part B of Medicare. (Pear, 10/25)
The Associated Press:
Trump Says Goal Of Proposal Is To Lower Some US Drug Prices
"We are taking aim at the global freeloading that forces American consumers to subsidize lower prices in foreign countries through higher prices in our country," Trump said in a speech Thursday at the Department of Health and Human Services. "Same company. Same box. Same pill. Made in the exact same location, and you would go to some countries and it would be 20 percent of the cost of what we pay," said Trump, who predicted the plan will save Americans billions. "We're fixing it." (Alonso-Zaldivar and Riechmann, 10/26)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Offers Test Plan To Lower Medicare Drug Costs
The proposal wouldn’t likely go into effect until late 2019 or 2020 and would cover only some drugs in Medicare in parts of the country. Some Democrats said the idea would do little in the short term and fall short of Mr. Trump’s more aggressive campaign promise on drug prices. Under the proposal, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would issue a proposed rule this spring to change how it pays for infused and injected drugs administered by physicians in half of the country. The changes would only apply to some drugs in Medicare’s outpatient program known as Part B, and not the most commonly used medicines sold at pharmacies. (Armour and Walker, 10/25)
NPR:
Trump Says Medicare Part B Should Pay Less For Drugs
The proposed changes are related to the Medicare Part B program that pays for medications that patients receive in hospitals or in doctor's offices. Today, Medicare reimburses doctors and hospitals the average sales prices of the drugs, plus 6 percent to cover the cost of giving medications to patients. The arrangement gives physicians an incentive to prescribe the most expensive medications, because they will collect a higher fee, Trump said. (Kodjak, 10/25)
Bloomberg:
Trump Proposes Setting Some Drug Prices Using Global Index
Health Secretary Alex Azar said that the administration will test the new pricing model in half the country to start, targeting drugs made by a single manufacturer. Over time, he said, the aim is to drive down the cost of those medications by 30 percent. Azar said Medicare will not be fixing the price pharmaceutical companies will get paid, and that they’ll have the choice raise prices abroad to make the U.S. index more favorable to them. “The fate is still in their hands,” Azar said after Trump’s speech. He said he doubted drugmakers would stop selling products in the U.S. (Edney, 10/25)
The Washington Post:
Trump Says He’s Taking ‘Revolutionary’ Action To Lower Drug Prices
Trump’s remarks were the first as president at HHS and come at a time when health care is playing a defining role in midterm campaigns, with Democrats slamming Republicans over whether they support protecting access to health care for people with preexisting conditions. Trump argued that other countries were being “very disrespectful” by selling their prescription drugs to Americans for higher prices than their citizens are paying for them. (Winfield Cunningham and Sonmez, 10/25)
Stat:
Railing Against ‘Global Freeloading,’ Trump Offers Plan To Lower Drug Prices
Trump’s speech came as his administration has made its work on drug pricing a priority — and as that work, too, has increasingly taken direct aim at pharmaceutical companies. Last week, top officials unveiled a new proposal that would require drug makers to include the prices of their products in TV commercials. The timing, just two weeks before the midterm elections, also bolsters the administration’s argument that it is acting aggressively to curb soaring drug prices, even as Democrats around the country have made health care costs and perceived greed within the pharmaceutical industry central to their campaigns. (Swetlitz, 10/25)
Modern Healthcare:
New CMS Pay Model Targets Soaring Drug Prices
The U.S. government has never before based any healthcare payment rates on rates paid in other countries. If adopted, the administration's proposal could open the door to similar international reference pricing for medical devices and other products, as well as for prescription drugs in Medicare's Part D program, said Gerard Anderson, a health policy and management professor at Johns Hopkins University. "This is game-changing in terms of looking at other countries' prices," he said. "There's never been anything like that. Most people were afraid to even suggest it. The device industry should be nervous about this." (Meyer and Dickson, 10/25)
Politico:
Trump's Drug Plan Falls Flat In Health Care Messaging War
President Donald Trump tried Thursday to make good on a campaign vow to lower drug prices — attacking “foreign freeloaders” and proposing significant changes to how Medicare pays for many drugs. But his populist proposal didn’t appear likely to budge the national debate around health care, just days ahead of the midterm elections. Early indications are that it won’t be an immediate game changer — it’s too wonky for Republicans playing defense in local races, it gave Democrats a fresh opportunity to slam the administration‘s attacks on patient protections and it won’t help most voters pay less for prescriptions at local pharmacies. (Diamond, 10/25)
PBS NewsHour:
HHS Secretary On Medicare Drug Pricing, Gender Definitions
President Trump has announced several proposed changes to how Medicare buys certain expensive prescription drugs, relying in part upon a benchmark price index of other developed countries, who negotiate lower prices. But critics wonder why the U.S. government doesn't do the negotiating itself. (Brangham, 10/25)
