Opponents could pursue a parliamentary challenge under Senate rules, arguing that penalizing price increases by one private company on another has no bearing on federal budgetary issues. In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has taken a lead role on prescription drugs, supports keeping the inflation caps for privately insured people. “When generics are not exempted … they’ll get caught up in the jet wash,” he said. Dan Leonard, president of the generic lobbying group Association for Accessible Medicines, said he fears his members will be penalized for price increases that amount to pennies on the dollar. The generic drug industry wants their products exempted. The main drug industry lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, says inflation rebates would undermine innovation that continues after medicines are approved. “If you look at groups on either side of the issue, there are groups that protect the business interests of pharma, and then there’s everybody else.” “It’s true that not all the business groups are in the same place,” Gelfand said of divisions in the business community. Without them, Gelfand estimates that employers could face an additional 3.7% annual increase in health care costs over the usual medical inflation because drug companies could in effect raise prices on privately insured patients to make up for rebates paid on behalf of Medicare enrollees. Gremminger said his group estimates that the privately insured market could save $250 billion over 10 years under the inflation caps currently in the bill. The Biden package would tackle the first two issues, but Democrats were unable to agree on authorizing Medicare to negotiate prices of new drugs.Īnnual price increases for established prescription drugs usually outpace inflation, although there have been periods of moderation in recent years. The chief cost complaints are: high out-of-pocket costs for patients, high and rising list prices, and high launch prices for new medicines. Polls show that Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly favor government action to reduce drug prices. The goal is to deter drug companies from extravagant price increases. “If they raise prices in private markets faster than the economy grows, they will be required to pay that money back to the government,” Gelfand said. Inflation caps would be a “game changer,” said James Gelfand, a vice president of ERIC, a group that represents major national companies as providers of employee benefits.Įarlier legislation would have based the “inflation rebates” on sales to Medicare plans, but the House-passed bill broadens the formula to include private plans. But we have been worried and continue to be worried that will change.” His coalition represents nearly 40 large employers that cover more than 15 million workers, retirees and their families. As currently structured, that would be the case. “A lot of people don’t realize that the bill applies to, and will help, privately insured people,” said Shawn Gremminger, health policy director at the Purchaser Business Group on Health. Prescription drugs are but one component, and most of the attention has focused on Medicare provisions to slash out-of-pocket costs for seniors and allow the program to negotiate prices for a limited number of medicines.īut the inflation caps would have far-reaching impact for as many as 180 million Americans with private insurance. The bill resets national priorities on issues from climate to family life and faces more scrutiny in that evenly divided chamber. House Democrats passed the roughly $2 trillion social agenda legislation on Friday and sent it to the Senate. Chamber of Commerce are backing the pharmaceutical industry’s drive to block restraints on pricing, including inflation caps, saying they would stifle innovation.
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Other groups such as the influential U.S. The issue is dividing business groups in a fierce lobbying battle.Ĭorporate groups focused on affordable employee benefits want to keep the language as is so it would provide price-increase protection for companies and their workers and not just Medicare enrollees. Drugs sold to private plans would count in calculating the penalty, like a tax on price increases. That provision would require drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare if they increase prices above the rate of inflation.
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It’s meant to break the cycle of annual price increases for widely used medicines. WASHINGTON (AP) - Workers and families with private health insurance would reap savings on prescription drugs from a little-noticed provision in President Joe Biden’s sweeping social agenda bill.