By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Monday it would seek authority to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs under the government's Medicare Part D program, which offers private drug coverage for senior citizens and the disabled. President Barack Obama's new $3.99 trillion budget for fiscal-year 2016 proposes allowing the U.S. secretary for health and human services to negotiate prices for biotechnology treatments and other high-cost drugs in Part D "to ensure access to and affordability of these treatments." But the plan would require the administration to get a green light from Congress, where Republicans who control the House of Representatives and Senate have openly favored market forces over government intervention as a vehicle for containing healthcare costs. Congress prohibited Medicare from negotiating directly with drug companies in 2003 when it created Part D under then-President George W. Bush.
via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News http://ift.tt/1LElVVa
No comments:
Post a Comment