19 April 2016 - An influential federal advisory panel is calling for Congress to force private insurers to rein in rapid increases in prescription drug costs — by cutting some Medicare payments to insurance companies while shielding older Americans from higher out-of-pocket expenses.

The recommendations by the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission would squeeze private insurers and drug makers alike, creating strong new incentives for insurance companies to manage the use of prescription medicines by beneficiaries and negotiate larger price discounts with pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Obama administration agrees with the reasoning.

Beneficiaries are feeling the pinch. Barbara N. DalPonte, 67, who lives in a suburb of Salem, Ore., takes six drugs, including one for chronic lung problems and another, Nexium, for excess stomach acid. She was in a Humana plan last year, but when she learned that the costs to her would total $7,400 this year, she switched to one offered by another company — EnvisionRx, a unit of Rite Aid — with out-of-pocket costs of $3,400.

For more details, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/us/panel-would-make-insurers-help-contain-rising-drug-costs.html?emc=edit_th_20160419&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=20088616&_r=0