The surprising group that will be hit hard by drug pricing reform
By Rachel Cohrs
STAT
Obviously, pharmaceutical companies are upset that they’re going to lose money from Medicare under Democrats’ new drug pricing law. But there’s another, less obvious group that’s concerned as well — long-term care pharmacies that serve almost entirely Medicare patients, and dispense the drugs that will likely enter the price negotiation program first.
While long-term care pharmacies support lowering drug costs, they’re also worried about whether their bottom lines will take a hit as a result, said Alan Rosenbloom, president and CEO of the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition. They aren’t paid a percentage of the costs for the drugs they dispense, but lower prices will mean smaller pools of discounts for groups like insurers, wholesalers and pharmacies.
“Pharmacies shouldn’t be collateral damage. We didn’t cause high prices,” Rosenbloom said in an interview with STAT.
The two biggest long-term care pharmacy companies are Omnicare, which is owned by CVS Health, and PharMerica, which is owned by private equity firm KKR.
To view the original article click here.
Recent Posts
-
Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition Shares Comments with CMS Regarding Medicare Part D Restructuring Guidance: “Smoothing Provisions”
SCPC filed comments with CMS in response to their guidance on the implementation of the Medicare Part D restructuring portion of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
-
Drug pricing efforts threaten ‘very existence’ of LTC pharmacies: reps
President Biden in his State of the Union address last week vowed to end “Big Pharma’s” grip on prescription drug pricing and cut costs for seniors and taxpayers by another $200 million.
But the president’s plans to expand his administration’s first-ever Medicare drug price negotiations could spell big trouble for the pharmacists who support seniors living in long-term care settings, advocates warned in response. -
President Biden Announces Desire to Cap Drug Prices for All Americans
In the State of the Union Address on March 7th, President Joseph Biden announced a proposal to expand the number of drugs targeted for annual price negotiations by Medicare and lower prescription drug costs for American families.
Stay in the Know
Get the latest news and updates on issues impacting the long-term pharmacy community.