Posted by Michael Wonder on 04 Apr 2020
Alternative drug purchasing arrangements do not justify raising the prices Medicaid pays for brand drugs
3 April 2020 - As the prescription drug pipeline fills with very high-cost gene therapies and specialty drugs, affordability and access are top of mind for federal and state policy makers and patients.
Drug manufacturers are aggressively promoting alternative purchasing arrangements as a better way for private insurers, state Medicaid programs, and employers to pay for new prescription drugs with very high launch prices. Some of these arrangements include pay-over-time contracts and outcomes-based contracts that have rebates linked to measurable clinical endpoints.
These arrangements, when taken at face value, may seem to make high-cost drugs more affordable. However, they may do little or nothing to discourage excessive launch prices for new drugs and could instead merely facilitate them.
