Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Nov 2017
U.S. Government should negotiate drug prices, adviser group says
30 November 2017 - National Academies releases report with recommendations.
The U.S. government should use its heft to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, according to a group of independent experts who advise the nation on science and medicine.
Congress should authorize the government to use its purchasing power to get better deals on drugs it buys through Medicare, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said in a report Thursday. The group also suggested the U.S. discourage direct-to-consumer ads for prescription medications.
“Monitoring will be needed, but taking these steps should bring down the cost of prescription drugs while still enabling the continuing development of new drugs,” the advisers said in the 189-page report, called “Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative.”
