Should drug prices be negotiated under part D of Medicare? And if so, how?
Medicare's Part D prescription drug benefit has offered affordable coverage to millions of elderly Americans since its January 2006 implementation. A great deal of concern has been expressed about whether drugs are being purchased in a cost-effective manner. Many believe that the government should be negotiating prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. We look at prescription drug pricing under Part D by examining the logic behind existing arrangements and by reviewing initial evidence on the behavior of prices. We make a modest proposal for how to improve purchasing of prescription drugs in Medicare.
Frank
Richard G
RG
Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. frank@hcp.med.harvard.edu
Newhouse
Joseph P
JP
D000368:Aged; D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D016527:Drug Costs; D004345:Drug Industry; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D054524:Medicare Part D; D017008:Negotiating; D014481:United States