New push for Part D price control

A new push to introduce federal price controls on the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit is underway in the USA, with a report by the Washington Post claiming that the prices of the top 10 branded prescription drugs have increased 6.8% since the end of last year.

The newspaper quotes figures released by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is shortly planning hearings about the need for price "negotiations." The Post also claims that the measure was blocked "by a Republican filibuster," when it was in fact amended to avoid a presidential veto by Republican President George W Bush (Marketletter May 14).

Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade body which includes many Part D insurance providers, dismissed the claims, stating that "you have to look at the broader trends, and the news has been nothing but positive, exceeding all expectations." The Post also reported that critics "accused Oversight Committee staff of cherry-picking brand-name drugs to exaggerate cost increases." The significant rise in generic drug use in the USA would tend to offset (and be encouraged by) at least some branded-drug price increases (Marketletter April 30).