"Dollars for Donuts" Deal Revisited: What Pharma Got
This article was originally published in RPM Report
Executive Summary
A Kaiser Family Foundation report on the impact of the Medicare Part D donut hole reads like an artifact of history. But it helps quantify the benefit to brand name industry from closing the donut hole in the context of health care reform.
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The President Talks Prescription Drugs
President Obama hosted a “town hall” discussion on health care reform and senior citizens June 8. Not surprisingly, the plan to fill in the Medicare Part D donut hole was touched on several times. If manufacturers expected credit for giving a 50% discount, they didn’t get it. They did, however, hear some unwelcome discussion of ideas like price negotiation. On the other hand, the President stressed the role of health care reform in assuring access to drugs. Excerpts from the official White House transcript.