Health Affairs November 18, 2024
John C. Goodman, Lawrence J. Wedekind

The price of prescription drugs has been a major talking point in this year’s elections. Having the government negotiate drug prices was a major change in federal policy—occasioned by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Many want to go further, giving Medicare the power to enter more negotiations over more drugs.

Surprisingly, with policy makers focusing on the role of drug manufacturers, almost no attention has been paid to the way in which traditional Medicare (as opposed to Medicare Advantage plans) causes the elderly and people with disabilities to overpay for the drugs they use. This occurs for three reasons: traditional Medicare requires three separate insurance plans for comprehensive coverage, traditional Medicare drug plans are required to community rate, without adequate...

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Topics: Biotechnology, Insurance, Medicare, Patient / Consumer, Pharma, Pharma / Biotech
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