The Health Care Reform Corner – From the editors of "The Pink Sheet" June 23, 2009
What are policymakers and stakeholders in Washington saying and doing about health care reform? In this periodic BioPharma Today feature, the editors of "The Pink Sheet" and "The Pink Sheet" DAILY highlight some of the major developments chronicled in those publications.
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WASINGTON, D.C. – The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s offer to offset 50 percent of the cost of branded drugs for some beneficiaries in the Medicare Part D coverage gap is not expected to produce much in savings for the federal government, but it’s being hailed by the Obama administration as a sign of important progress in gaining health care systems savings from key stakeholders.
PhRMA reached an agreement with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., on the donut hole over the weekend; announcements about the deal began to come out on Saturday, June 20. The concession on the coverage gap is contingent on health reform legislation passing Congress; that is, it needs to be part of legislation that includes an expansion of health insurance to the uninsured. President Obama highlighted the plan June 22 in a White House event that included an endorsement from AARP. Read the story here…
The House health care reform bill asks pharmaceutical manufacturers to pay their share of the cost of expanding health care coverage by paying higher rebates on more drugs.
The chairmen of the three House committees with jurisdiction over reform - Henry Waxman, D-Calif., of Energy and Commerce, Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., of Ways and Means and George Miller, C-Calif., of Education and Labor - released a discussion draft of their bill June 19. The committees will hold hearings on the bill during the week of June 22 and expect to have committee votes by the end of July. In Sec. 1181 of the draft, they propose requiring drug manufacturers to provide rebates on drugs used by "full premium subsidy eligible individuals" enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, meaning enrollees eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage. Read the story here…
The draft health reform legislation unveiled jointly by three House committees June 19 does not specifically address the use of comparative effectiveness research in treatment or coverage decisions, which should raise a red flag for the pharmaceutical industry.
The bill would establish a center for comparative effectiveness research within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to conduct, support and synthesize research on the outcomes, effectiveness and appropriateness of various health care treatments. Reports from the center would be disseminated to health care providers, patients and federal and private health plans, according to the draft.
But unlike Senate legislation on CER, the House draft does not include a warning or restrictions against use of the comparative effectiveness research as the basis for treatment or payment decisions. Read the story here…
- Scott Steinke
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