Does Negotiated Drug Pricing Work?

[somarco]

Over the past year, Congress has spent a conspicuously large amount of its limited legislative time in efforts to constrain the activities of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Four different House committees and three Senate Committees have held hearings or marked up proposed legislation that addressed PBMs. With many must-do items and looming deadlines (such as avoiding a government shutdown, for example) and not a lot of legislative days on its calendar, it’s worth asking why it has focused on this industry. The flurry of motion on the issue suggests it has little to do with actually reducing drug prices.

However, government agencies have acknowledged that efforts to rein in PBMs would do nothing to save taxpayers or patients money: Studies published by both the Government Accountability Office and the HHS Office of the Inspector General found that the rebates PBMs negotiate are passed along to plan sponsors in Part D to lower the costs of premiums for beneficiaries and taxpayers alike.

https://www.realclearmarkets.com/ar...inking_in_drug-price_negotiations_979967.html

 

[ValeRosso]

How does negotiation even work when they aren’t allowed to negotiate until 7-11 years after the drug is introduced to the market, and if a generic enters the market when its set to be negotiated, the negotiation is no longer allowed because of the cheaper generic? None of this makes sense.

 

[somarco]

How does negotiation even work when they aren’t allowed to negotiate until 7-11 years after the drug is introduced to the market, and if a generic enters the market when its set to be negotiated, the negotiation is no longer allowed because of the cheaper generic? None of this makes sense.

If you want my opinion, IRA was a total smoke screen BS law to payoff certain governors while accomplishing nothing to reduce inflation OR lower drug costs. In other words, a pure political wolf in sheep.s clothing.

The GAO and IG are SUPPOSED to be unbiased, so I tend to believe them over the BS legislation and campaign falderal.

 

[ValeRosso]

If you want my opinion, IRA was a total smoke screen BS law to payoff certain governors while accomplishing nothing to reduce inflation OR lower drug costs. In other words, a pure political wolf in sheep.s clothing.

The GAO and IG are SUPPOSED to be unbiased, so I tend to believe them over the BS legislation and campaign falderal.

TBH I’m pretty much in agreement now that I see how many holes are in the IRA, especially the medicare part of it.