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Trump administration looks to give private Medicare plans negotiating power on drugs
[The Hill] Insurers that participate in Medicare’s prescription drug program would be able to exclude certain drugs if prices rise faster than inflation as part of a new proposal from the Trump administration.

The proposal, announced Monday, is aimed at lowering prescription drug costs for seniors by giving Medicare plans leverage in price negotiations.

Currently, private Medicare health plans are required to cover all or "substantially all" drug in six "protected" classes, such as HIV treatments, antidepressants and cancer drugs, regardless of cost.
This gives pharmaceutical companies little incentive to make the drugs affordable, administration officials said.

"The lack of any ability for Part D plans to manage drugs in the protected classes has allowed the pharmaceutical industry to command high prices on protected class drugs in Part D, without patients getting a good deal," Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement.

Under the proposal, health plans would be allowed to exclude protected drugs with price increases that are greater than inflation, as well as certain new drug formulations that are not a "significant innovation" over the original product.

The proposal could save taxpayers $692 million over a decade, officials said.
Posted by: Besoeker 2018-11-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=528522