Medicare

Brand drug makers are offering two alternatives to the president’s most-favored-nation executive order: one would hurt doctors and hospitals, instead of drug makers, and the other is loosely based on the Senate Finance Committee drug pricing bill, according to a summary of the proposals obtained by Inside Drug Pricing.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar is letting pharmacists temporarily administer vaccines to children during the pandemic, and hospital pharmacists want Azar to use the same authority he relied on for that directive to let pharmacists administer coronavirus vaccines to adults and children once they are available.

The president tweeted Saturday night (Aug. 22) that he signed last week the executive order to base Medicare reimbursement on the lowest drug prices among developed countries — an order he earlier said he would hold off signing if the drug industry presented an acceptable alternative by Monday (Aug. 24).

With a Monday deadline looming, the drug industry does not seem to have agreed on a policy to present to the White House as an alternative to the president’s plan to base Medicare reimbursement on the cheapest prices for drugs in other developed countries.

Hospitals with Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with COVID-19 will only see a 20% hike in payment if they prove a positive diagnosis starting on Sept. 1, CMS said on Monday (Aug. 17) in a Medicare Learning Network memo.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), lead advocates of Medicare for All, told progressives who are not excited about the moderate 2020 Democratic ticket to support former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) because it would make progressive health care priorities more achievable.

Generic drug makers are pleased the president is again saying he’ll eliminate rebates because it would fix an aspect of Medicare Part D that encourages plans to use brands over generics.

The Democratic presidential ticket now includes two moderates who support aggressive measures to rein in drug prices and reform health insurance markets.

CMS on Tuesday (Aug. 11) gave details on its new rural health model, previously laid out in a recent executive order, and said the demo will have a track for rural communities and a track for accountable care organizations, with the first applications likely opening in September.