Greedy Trial Lawyer
Medicare Drug Prices Soar Above VA Drug Prices
Category: Seeing Clearly Now
Shirl Kennedy, at Docuticker, provides an excerpt from a report explaining why the Bush Administration and the Republicans in Congress did not want the government to have the ability to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers in the new Medicare Drug Benefit.
No Bargain: Medicare Drug Plans Deliver High Prices
Medicare drug plan prices for the top drugs prescribed to seniors are 58 percent higher than the same drugs provided to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), according to a report released today.The new report, issued by the consumer health organization Families USA, was released shortly before the House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on a bill to end the current prohibition preventing Medicare from bargaining for cheaper drug prices. The bill is a top priority for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her new Democratic majority.
For the top 20 drugs prescribed to seniors, the report examined prices charged by the VA compared to the prices charged by the five companies with the largest enrollment in the Medicare (Part D) drug program. Those companies, UnitedHealthcare/PacifiCare, Humana, Wellpoint, Member Health, and WellCare, enrolled almost two-thirds (65 percent) of the Medicare beneficiaries participating in Part D during 2006.
According to the report, the prices charged by plans sponsored by the five companies are 50-75 percent higher than the VA price for Celebrex; 51-82 percent higher for Lipitor (10 mg); 69-95 percent higher for Nexium; 205-261 percent higher for Fosamax; 435-522 percent higher for Protonix; and 1,066-1,229 percent higher for Zocor (20 mg).
I am having trouble even calculating what the Zocor overpricing means.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.greedytriallawyer.com/admin/mt-tb.cgi/447