House Democrats Push Back On Obama Plan To Cut Drug Prices

[Ferd Berfel]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/house-democrats-hhs-drug-prices_us_5720e639e4b0b49df6a9c93f

A fight over drug prices is entering a new phase.

A group of House Democrats is organizing an effort that could slow down an Obama administration plan to reduce drug prices, according to a letter obtained by The Huffington Post.

The Department of Health and Human Services is working toward finalizing a new rule that would experiment with ending the financial incentive doctors have for prescribing some extremely expensive medications. The rule has been well-received among some patient advocates, but congressional Democrats have been largely silent, while the pharmaceutical industry and medical community have waged an aggressive campaign to stop it.

The campaign is bearing fruit. The letter from House Democrats, according to Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), was made necessary because Big Pharma and oncologist lobbyists had pushed many Democrats to the brink of signing a much more aggressive Republican letter. The letter expresses concerns with the proposed rule, but doesn’t call for it to be withdrawn.

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The future under either a Clinton or Trump Admin is fucking Bleak. Either will be destructive to the average American.
If you liked Bills right wing agenda you'll love the Neo-Dems agenda under Hillary

[Kelvin Mace]

1. The Vichy Dems strike again

[pampango]

2. Damn! House Democrats? Not Obama? What is the world coming to? :)

... while the pharmaceutical industry and medical community have waged an aggressive campaign to stop it.

The rule has been well-received among some patient advocates, but congressional Democrats have been largely silent ...

Big Pharma and oncologist lobbyists had pushed many Democrats to the brink of signing a much more aggressive Republican letter.

The Democratic letter gives HHS the opportunity to quickly answer the questions and move forward with the rule, while the GOP missive aims to stop it cold.

Welcome to the real world, Barack. It is not just congressional republicans you are up against but they remain very much a roadblock to progress. Sometimes the best-laid plans of presidents come up against 'political reality'.

I'm glad Obama is pissing off Big Pharma. Wish our House Democrats had stronger spines.

[Ferd Berfel]

3. The neo-Dems are simply the republican party

prior to its going insane and full blown racist. You can see evidence of this in the arguments made in support of the Corporate elite agenda, by the Hillarians here.
Bill swung heavily to the right 'forcing' Newt even farther to the right - just to keep up. The Republican party finally had to go off the deep end just to keep up with Bill (and now Obama). Remember (in the90's when it was amusing that Clinton was beating the Republicans to the (RW) punch? We'd say he was out republicaning the republicans - and laugh about it.

Clinton and the neo-Dems have simply taken up station on the former republican turf.

[tencats]

4. Widely seen as the administration’s first serious attempt to rein in drug spending

I remembered reading about this back in early March of this year. Here is the article from the the NYT.

Groups Scrutinize White House Plan to Cut Drug Costs in Medicare
By ROBERT PEAR, MARCH 9, 2016

Under the proposal, announced Tuesday, Medicare would try a half-dozen new ways of paying for prescription drugs in Part B of Medicare, under which $20 billion was spent last year on medications administered in doctors’ offices and hospital outpatient departments.

The announcement is only a proposal for a test, but it has huge implications for the pharmaceutical industry, especially for the big, fast-growing category of specialty drugs known as biologics. The proposal could, for the first time, link Medicare payments to the effectiveness of a drug and the cost of comparable medications — factors not normally considered in the current reimbursement formula, which is based on the average sales price of drugs, with an additional 6 percent allowance for storage and handling costs.

snip

Two influential lobbies, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, strenuously opposed the administration’s plan, saying it could put Medicare patients at risk. Prices for new cancer drugs often exceed $100,000 a year, and it is not unusual to see television commercials and magazine advertisements promoting such treatments.

Dr. Allen S. Lichter, the chief executive of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which represents cancer doctors, said the administration had identified a real problem, “the skyrocketing prices of drugs.” But he added, “Doctors did not create this problem, and it will not be solved by putting pressure on physicians.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/us/politics/groups-scrutinize-white-house-plan-to-cut-drug-costs-in-medicare.html

[KamaAina]

5. House DINOs Push Back On Obama Plan To Cut Drug Prices

There. I fixed it for you.