May 10, 2018
Last week, President Trump gave his long anticipated prescription drug cost speech. Here are a few highlights of the speech and subsequent press releases (courtesy of Vox)
- Drug Makers would have to disclose list prices.
- Medicare Part D plans have more flexibility to negotiate discounts for certain drugs.
- Will allow certain Part D drugs to be priced differently.
- Pharmacists will now be allowed to inform Part D beneficiaries if they would save money by paying out of pocket rather than use Part D plan.
- Will promote getting generics and biosimiliars to market.
- Change trade policy to promote higher prices overseas.
Potentially other actions may still occur and you can read the details here.
Association Health Plans – The Actuary Magazine published analysis on the potential effects of association health plans (AHPs) on the individual market. The key findings are 1) about 25% of the individual market is self-employed (i.e., eligible for AHPs under the proposed rule) and 2) premiums could be between 1.4% and 4.4% higher in the ACA individual market due to the AHP regulation.
Uninsured Rate Up - More evidence that 2017 saw an uptick in the uninsured rate. Gallup released state by state uninsured rates. Four states saw increases of at least 3%; West Virginia, New Mexico, Iowa, and Hawaii. You can read it here.
Opioid Bill – A series of small bills slowly making its way through Congress could have some impact on Medicare and Medicaid. According to Politico, the bill would waive Medicare telehealth requirements to treat opioids.
Read of the Week: Brookings Institute policy proposal to change Medicare Advantage competitive bidding system.