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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.
Pfizer last week became the first major drugmaker to announce it is partnering with a major healthcare company in offering a discount card under the new Medicare program set to kick off in June.
Although there has been increasing rhetoric about addressing high drug prices as a trade matter rather than resorting to measures such as importation, U.S. trade representatives can do little more than encourage other countries to abandon their systems of price controls, trade officials told a congressional panel last week.
For the first time ever, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson last week approved plans allowing five states to pool their purchasing power to obtain deeper discounts from drugmakers on prescription drugs bought under the Medicaid program.
Last week’s announcement that French drugmaker Aventis’ was accepting Sanofi-Synthelabo’s improved stock-and-cash bid is part of a larger market trend being driven by increasing concern over pricing issues, according to industry analysts.
Drugmakers would have leverage over pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) under a proposed California bill that would force PBMs to disclose information on the payments and discounts they receive from manufacturers, according to a national PBM trade group.
Although there has been increasing rhetoric about addressing high drug prices as a trade matter rather than resorting to measures such as importation, U.S. trade representatives can do little more than encourage other countries to abandon their systems of price controls, trade officials told a congressional panel yesterday.
With few exceptions, brand firms this week reported positive sales and revenue growth in the first quarter of 2004, with giants like Pfizer and Eli Lilly posting double-digit gains.
Pfizer yesterday became the first major drugmaker to announce it is partnering with a major healthcare company in offering a discount card under the new Medicare program set to kick off in June.