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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has concluded that Bush administration officials likely violated federal law by allegedly trying to prevent the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from releasing cost estimates on last year’s Medicare drug bill.
Drug prices being quoted for the new Medicare discount drug cards are still far higher than those available in Canada or those negotiated by the federal government, according to a study by the minority staff on the House Government Reform Committee.
It appears unlikely that the current research and development (R&D) tax credit for corporations will be extended by Congress before it expires June 30, despite intense lobbying by business interests, including pharmaceutical company representatives, according to knowledgeable sources.
The political sparring over cost estimates for the new Medicare law flared again last week as 19 House members reacted to an HHS response to their request for information with a demand for even more information.
Saying they are concerned that drug manufacturers may be using an exception to Medicaid price-reporting requirements that could be resulting in rebate underpayments in the hundreds of millions of dollars, two powerful U.S. senators sent letters yesterday to 19 drug companies asking for detailed pricing information for eight classes of drugs.
The political sparring over cost estimates for the new Medicare law flared again yesterday as 19 House members reacted to an HHS response to their request for information with a demand for even more information.
Despite intense lobbying by business interests, including pharmaceutical company representatives, it appears unlikely that the current research and development (R&D) tax credit for corporations will be extended by Congress before it expires June 30, according to knowledgeable sources.
In a precedent-setting case involving the controversial declaratory judgment provision in last year’s drug patent reforms, the FTC and the AARP are supporting Teva Pharmaceuticals’ bid to convince a federal district court to hear its patent challenge against Pfizer’s lucrative antidepressant Zoloft (sertraline HCl).
The HHS’ top lawyer is predicting that the implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act will have a greater impact on drugmakers than the drug-review process at the FDA.
With implementation of the new Medicare law looming, the drug industry is rapidly hiring congressional staffers and former federal regulators who can navigate the regulatory terrain on which success or failure will be decided.