Are reasonable restraints on drug price increases doomed by pharma lobbying?

Stat News

29 August 2019 - In a rare but important display of congressional bipartisanship, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have co-sponsored the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, which includes a meaningful solution to the crisis created by runaway drug price increases. 

The act would put a cap on drug price increases in Medicare Part D by requiring drug manufacturers to rebate 100% of any price increase that exceeds the rate of inflation.

An AARP study shows that the average annual cost of treatment with one of the 214 most widely used branded medications among older individuals with chronic conditions increased almost $5,000 in 11 years: from $1,800 in 2006 when Part D went into effect to nearly $6,800 in 2017. Had the Grassley/Wyden proposal been enacted in 2006, the average price of these medicines would have increased by just $500, and the drug price crisis would not exist.

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Michael Wonder

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Michael Wonder