The Health Care Reform Corner – From the editors of "The Pink Sheet"
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.
Read today's features...
Washington, D.C. – Applying Medicaid rebates to the Medicare population would generate more than enough revenue to cover the cost of phasing out the donut hole in the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, a preliminary Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House health care reform bill shows.
Collecting rebates on drugs purchased by Medicare's dual eligible beneficiaries - those who qualify for coverage both by Medicare and Medicaid - would generate $63 billion in new revenue over 10 years, the July 8 CBO analysis says. That amount is more than enough to pay for the House bill's proposed multi-year phase out of the donut hole. The phased-in elimination would cost $47 billion over that time period, CBO says. Read the story here…
The House does not intend to abide by terms of an agreement between the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Senate Finance Committee over proposals for pharmaceutical industry contributions to health care reform, Rep. Henry Waxman, D.-Calif., declared during a National Journal event July 8 in Washington, D.C.
"We are certainly not bound by that agreement," he said of PhRMA's commitment to provide $80 billion in savings for health care reform, announced with much fanfare the week of June 20. Read the story here…
Seventy House Democrats urged the architects of the tri-committee draft legislation on health care reform to adopt PhRMA's approach to alleviating drug costs in the Medicare Part D donut hole in a July 9 letter.
The letter was sent to Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairs of the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees, and the chairs of their respective Health Subcommittees: Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Pete Stark, D-Calif. Read the story here…
Sen. Edward Kennedy's, D-Mass., revised proposal for a follow-on biologics pathway offers brand products the opportunity for even more exclusivity than the fixed 12 years in last session's bill. This year's version offers a base period-plus-plus design that offers brands up to 13.5 years.
That change is perhaps the clearest sign that brands are in a strong position as health care reform enters a crucial month in which Democratic leaders hope to pass initial bills on the floors of each chamber.
Kennedy's new FOB legislation could be offered soon as an amendment to the health care reform legislation as part of the ongoing markup in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Read the story here…
FTC made its strongest case yet for inclusion of settlement limits into health reform on June 23, offering an eye-popping savings estimate of $12 billion over 10 years for proposals that would prevent a brand firm from offering anything of value aside from early generic entry, as part of a patent settlement.
FTC's settlement reform push is just one of a number of side issues angling for inclusion into the legislation under the aegis of saving money and improving care, most notably comparative effectiveness research and follow-on biologics. Read the story here…
- Scott Steinke
Not a subscriber? Click on the links below to start a 30-day, risk-free trial:
• “The Pink Sheet”– Providing comprehensive weekly biopharma industry insight and analysis for more than 70 years.
• “The Pink Sheet” DAILY– immediate biopharma business intelligence from the company and product level up.
