Government
Medicare drug prices higher than other options
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 12, 2005
Drugs that will be available under Medicare on Jan. 1, 2006, will cost significantly more than medications offered by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and certain U.S. and Canadian pharmacies, according to a report sponsored by Democratic lawmakers.
The minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee released the study, which found that the average prices of 10 leading drugs from 10 major drug plans were more than 80% higher than what the VA pays for the same medications. The prices also were more than 60% higher than those available in Canada and about 3% higher than those available at Costco pharmacies and at the online pharmacy Drugstore.com.
Democrats on the committee pointed to the results as evidence that the government should be permitted to negotiate directly with drug companies to obtain lower prices.
A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services spokesman decried the report as misleading, saying that the researchers did not examine all of the drug plan options available to seniors.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/12/12/gvbf1212.htm.
