PhRMA Agenda For 2005 Includes Medicare Start-Up, Liability Reform
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Trade association will work on medical malpractice issues particularly at the state level. "Access & Affordability" initiative includes support for expanding coverage to the uninsured, and continued efforts around patient assistance programs.
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The Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America will be supporting medical malpractice reform measures at the state level as part of its agenda for 2005. During PhRMA's annual two day strategic planning session Nov. 11-12, the association agreed to make medical liability and tort reform one of four priorities under the umbrella of advocacy for "access and affordability." PhRMA will focus especially on state-level initiatives to limit malpractice suits. Although manufacturers remain staunch supporters of national reforms that would limit product liability, the trade association views the specific concerns of physicians as a good opportunity for alliance building. The other initiatives planned for 2005 include: (1) expanding access to manufacturer patient assistance programs; (2) addressing coverage for the uninsured; and (3) working to ensure the Medicare discount card program and Part D implementation go smoothly. Enactment of the Medicare prescription drug law was PhRMA's top priority for five years heading into 2003. With the Republican election victories, the legislation itself seems secure and PhRMA's focus can shift to efforts to enhance use of the card program over the next 12 months and ensuring a smooth uptake of the full Rx benefit itself in 2006. Expanding coverage for the uninsured is the next major health priority for PhRMA, but the association is not yet ready to articulate a detailed policy approach. PhRMA will keep working in the interim on increasing awareness of the industry's discounts and free products for indigent patients. The effort to highlight patient assistance programs was a centerpiece of the agenda outlined by PhRMA Chairman Miles White (Abbott) during the association's annual meeting in April (1 (Also see "PhRMA "Is Going To Be Different," Chairman White Pledges; Trade Group Must Be "More Than Advocacy"" - Pink Sheet, 5 Apr, 2004.)). PhRMA has since unveiled a unified enrollment website (FastAccess) to help simplify access to PAPs. The association has also worked with states like Ohio, Rhode Island and West Virginia to make free and discounted products more widely available. The association hopes especially to expand the "Partnership for Prescription Assistance," a joint effort by PhRMA, NAACP, the National Medical Association, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the states of Wisconsin, New Mexico and Georgia. Beyond the four elements of the "Access & Affordability" initiative, PhRMA will continue to focus on its core advocacy issues: maintaining a competitive free market, protecting intellectual property, and fostering a constructive regulatory environment. Heading into 2005, the association is optimistic that it will at last be able to turn the tide on the issue of reimportation. PhRMA hopes that the Republican election victories will allow lawmakers to look beyond what it views as the short-sighted reimportation effort to focus on "real solutions" for access to prescription drugs. - Michael McCaughan |