At Drug Hearing, Senators Discuss Meanings Of Price And Value — And Debate Health Reform

On Tuesday, June 13, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee held the first of three planned hearings on high drug prices. This hearing, titled “How the Drug Delivery System Affects What Patients Pay,” was designed to elicit basic information about how drug prices, overall spending, and patient costs have changed over time, and about the drivers of these metrics. The hearing featured four non-industry witnesses, with the plan that industry representatives will be included in future hearings. One of the most important points to come out of the hearing was that there is bipartisan concern about high drug prices. Even if there is as yet little agreement on what to do about it, Senators of both parties came out against the heavy burdens high drug prices have put on patients. More specifically, there were a number of topics which dominated the discussion, and I review three key areas below. The Elephant In the Room Although the stated focus of the hearing was about drug prices, the real focus of the hearing quickly became clear. Every Senate Democrat on the committee began their allotted time by discussing health care reform, blasting the secretive process by which Republicans are moving their health care bill through the chamber and opposing the bill’s substance. Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) even asked Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) if he would hold hearings on the bill. He responded that none were planned, and argued that her question wa...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Drugs and Medical Innovation Medicaid and CHIP Payment Policy Medicaid best-price rule outcomes-based contracts prescription drug prices value-based pricing Source Type: blogs