Posted by Michael Wonder on 12 Sep 2018
Trump's early efforts to trim drug costs face patient backlash
11 September 2018 - President Trump’s bid to revamp Medicare to lower drug prices for seniors is getting pushback from an unlikely source: Advocacy groups that represent patients.
Last month, the Trump administration rolled out two initiatives aimed at lowering drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries by allowing insurance plans to offer lower-cost alternative drugs in certain circumstances. But several patient advocacy groups argued that the efforts could backfire by creating new barriers to access for essential treatments.
The criticism is the latest levied at President Trump’s blueprint released back in May, which outlined a series of changes to Medicare that include allowing them to use some cost-saving strategies employed by private insurers. Some Democrats have charged that the blueprint’s changes to Medicare could raise costs for the program’s beneficiaries.
