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View Full Version : Big Pharma's likely defeat on 'donut hole' foreshadows treacherous 2019



Common
12-13-2018, 07:16 AM
Drugmakers are unlikely to convince Congress (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/pelosi-trump-overtures-making-big-pharma-sweat-bullets) to use an upcoming spending package to fix a so-called “donut hole” in healthcare coverage that's poised to erode profits, people familiar with the legislation told the Washington Examiner, a stinging defeat and one that weakens the industry’s clout.

Since February, pharmaceutical companies have mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign against a provision included in an earlier funding bill that raised the portion of a treatment’s cost that companies must cover under the Medicare Part D program. Starting in 2019, manufacturers must provide an increased 70 percent discount on drugs offered to customers in the program's donut hole, or individuals not at the catastrophic coverage level.


The change is expected to cost the industry billions of dollars. At Eli Lilly & Co. alone, it represents "about $200 million of incremental impact in 2019," Chief Financial Officer Joshua Smiley recently told (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/profit-doubles-at-eli-lilly-as-drugmakers-push-congress-to-fix-donut-hole) investors.



A compromise may still be reached that would pair a roll-back with a two-year delay of a $1,200 increase in out-of-pocket spending for Medicare beneficiaries slated to take effect in 2020. That package could also include legislation long-sought by the generic drug industry to address refusal by a brand-name drugmaker to provide samples of its product for the creation of lower-cost copycat treatments.


The odds are against the industry, however. The White House has signaled it would oppose a fix to the "donut hole," and neither Democrats nor most Republicans are looking to give drugmakers a victory amid the intense focus in Washington on high treatment costs, sources say.


The Trump administration is moving expeditiously on its drug-pricing blueprint and recently floated a proposal to tie reimbursement under Medicare Part B to international pricing, an idea that has already elicited significant push-back from the industry.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/big-pharmas-expected-defeat-on-donut-hole-foreshadows-treacherous-2019

Peter1469
12-13-2018, 07:30 AM
Good, but expect unintended consequences.

Common
12-13-2018, 07:45 AM
Good, but expect unintended consequences.
Like what ?

Peter1469
12-13-2018, 07:56 AM
Like what ?

I don't know. That is why they are called unintended consequences.

Perhaps some insurance won't cover some expensive meds.

Cannons Front
12-13-2018, 09:09 AM
As much as I am against a lot of Gov't regulation, with some things I think it is needed. There is no reason our drug costs are so high compared to the rest of the world
INFOGRAPHIC: Prescription Drug Cost Comparison, the U.S. v Abroad
https://internationalliving.com/prescription-drug-cost-comparison-the-u-s-v-abroad/
How Prescription Drug Prices Compare Internationallyhttps://graphics.wsj.com/table/GlobalDrug_1201

Peter1469
12-13-2018, 09:12 AM
As much as I am against a lot of Gov't regulation, with some things I think it is needed. There is no reason our drug costs are so high compared to the rest of the world
INFOGRAPHIC: Prescription Drug Cost Comparison, the U.S. v Abroad
https://internationalliving.com/prescription-drug-cost-comparison-the-u-s-v-abroad/


How Prescription Drug Prices Compare Internationally

https://graphics.wsj.com/table/GlobalDrug_1201
Some of the high cost is associated with researching new drugs. Something mainly done in the US. Tighten that up, and see less new drugs.

Now that might not be a bad thing. We rely too much on drugs and too little in clean, healthy living.

Common
12-13-2018, 09:19 AM
As much as I am against a lot of Gov't regulation, with some things I think it is needed. There is no reason our drug costs are so high compared to the rest of the world
INFOGRAPHIC: Prescription Drug Cost Comparison, the U.S. v Abroad
https://internationalliving.com/prescription-drug-cost-comparison-the-u-s-v-abroad/


How Prescription Drug Prices Compare Internationally

https://graphics.wsj.com/table/GlobalDrug_1201

Of course the govt is needed in alot of things, people that espouse no govt or govts only for roads and war, I disagree with. The govt is needed to protect the prey from the predators and many other things.

I believe in the constitution but its ludicrous to believe you can take a document written that long ago and define it contextually in the same way today in 2018. I realize there will be those that disagree utterly, I respect that and I wont debate it either because its one of those arguments theres no end.

Cannons Front
12-13-2018, 09:39 AM
Some of the high cost is associated with researching new drugs. Something mainly done in the US. Tighten that up, and see less new drugs.

Now that might not be a bad thing. We rely too much on drugs and too little in clean, healthy living.

I know R&D costs alot but that cost should be shared by all not just the people here in the US

Common
12-13-2018, 09:57 AM
I know R&D costs alot but that cost should be shared by all not just the people here in the US
They sell the same identical drugs in canada as here for up to 75% less, because Canada has controls, if big pharma wasnt making money at those prices, they wouldnt sell to canada.

They sell to othe countries pennies on the dollar, to their own country they stick it so far up us we cant afford them.

Its absurd and wrong what big pharma does to this country

MisterVeritis
12-13-2018, 10:35 AM
Of course the govt is needed in alot of things, people that espouse no govt or govts only for roads and war, I disagree with. The govt is needed to protect the prey from the predators and many other things.
I believe in the constitution but
The "but" tells me you pay it lip service.


its ludicrous to believe you can take a document written that long ago and define it contextually in the same way today in 2018. I realize there will be those that disagree utterly, I respect that and I wont debate it either because its one of those arguments theres no end.
All wannabe tyrants make the same claims.

Provide an example of something you find outdated.


Wait, you already said this is a drive-by shooting.

Captdon
12-13-2018, 10:51 AM
As much as I am against a lot of Gov't regulation, with some things I think it is needed. There is no reason our drug costs are so high compared to the rest of the world
INFOGRAPHIC: Prescription Drug Cost Comparison, the U.S. v Abroad
https://internationalliving.com/prescription-drug-cost-comparison-the-u-s-v-abroad/


How Prescription Drug Prices Compare Internationally

https://graphics.wsj.com/table/GlobalDrug_1201

I think drugs that are still patented for whatever period should have to justify the cost and it has to be public. It's a monopoly that the government has the duty to regulate.

Once a drug becomes open to generic, the government should step back.

Humira shouldn't be 80,000 dollars a year.

Captdon
12-13-2018, 10:56 AM
Of course the govt is needed in alot of things, people that espouse no govt or govts only for roads and war, I disagree with. The govt is needed to protect the prey from the predators and many other things.

I believe in the constitution but its ludicrous to believe you can take a document written that long ago and define it contextually in the same way today in 2018. I realize there will be those that disagree utterly, I respect that and I wont debate it either because its one of those arguments theres no end.

The Constitution allows for regulating interstate commerce.

In Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824) (http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/22/1/case.html), the Supreme Court held that intrastate activity could be regulated under the Commerce Clause, provided that the activity is part of a larger interstate commercial scheme. In Swift and Company v. United States, 196 U.S. 375 (1905) (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/196/375/), the Supreme Court held that Congress had the authority to regulate local commerce, as long as that activity could become part of a continuous “current” of commerce that involved the interstate movement of goods and services.


https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/commerce_clause

Peter1469
12-13-2018, 02:33 PM
I know R&D costs alot but that cost should be shared by all not just the people here in the US

That would help.