Switching Drugs on Seniors: Want to fix Medicare's drug plan? Fix the pharmacy benefit managers first

摘要

It won't be long before congressional Democrats authorize the federal government to negotiate the prices Medicare pays for prescription drugs-something the 2003 law creating the Part D program notoriously prohibited. Uncle Sam will crack some heads at Merck and Pfizer, and Washington will save so much money that it might even close the much-loathed "doughnut hole," a flaw in the law that currently denies coverage to Medicare recipients who have at least USD2,400 in prescription costs, but less than USD3,850 in total out-of-pocket expenses.