Will the Public Plan Be Dropped to Save US Healthcare

摘要

US healthcare reform has edged a little closer after the Senate voted to go ahead and debate its own consolidated reform bill. It is looking increasingly likely, however, that one of the central proposals - the controversial government-sponsored public health insurance scheme - may have to be jettisoned, or at least heavily diluted, if the reform is to pass Congress. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, senators won't start their debate until early December. They will have a lot to talk about. As we report elsewhere in this issue, the bill would require manufacturers to offer a 50% discount on the cost of innovative drugs for Medicare beneficiaries who reach the Part D coverage gap. Brand manufacturers would pay higher Medicaid rebates; generic rebates would also rise, while innovator firms would have to pay a total annual fee of dollar2.3 billion from 2010.