Dems propose Part D fix
From the New York Times:
Democrats, who have long charged that the drug industry isprofiteering at taxpayers’ expense, say they want to introducelegislation to revoke the law that bars Medicare from negotiatingprices directly with drug makers like Pfizer for the medicines it buys.
Medicarenow pays for drugs indirectly, through the private insurers thatadminister the prescription program — and those insurers typically payhigher prices than government agencies, like the VeteransAdministration, that buy medicines directly from drug makers.
Thegovernment is expected to spend at least $31 billion this year on thedrug benefit, which provides partial drug coverage for people over age65, according to the federal agency that runs Medicare. Next year, theprogram is expected to cost almost $50 billion — almost 20 percent ofoverall American drug spending.
Democrats say that directlynegotiating with drug makers could save taxpayers tens of billions ofdollars annually, though some independent analysts say thoseprojections are probably exaggerated.