Why Medicare Needs to Negotiate Part B Drug Prices

Allowing private health care providers to negotiate prices for drugs is not keeping drug prices down.  It seems to me that, in fact, it is forcing many drug prices up artificially.   Here are two examples:

When generic Lipitor (atorvastatin)  was first put on the market, it cost much more through many Part B health care plans than it did buying it on the open market.  The private providers had cut deals with Pfizer, the manufacturer of Lipitor, to keep the generic price higher than the price of the brand name Lipitor.  This was meant to encourage members to pick Lipitor instead of the generic.  These artificially high prices lasted for about 6 months, then the price of the generic finally came down.

Now generic Plavix (clopidogrel) has hit the market.  When I checked on how much this would cost my husband through his Medicare Part D plan provider United Healthcare, we were told the price was $70.00 for a thirty day supply of clopidogrel.  My husband is in the doughnut hole, and so we have to pay full price for whatever we purchase.  I checked the regular pharmacy price for this drug, and it was being sold for as low as $15.00 for a thirty day supply.  Why the discrepancy?  I have to think that once again, the negotiated price through our health care provider was ridiculously high because some kind of deal was cut with Bristol-Myers Squibb, although I have no proof.  Whatever the case, the cost of $70.00 compared to $15.00 can't be justified.  Obviously the negotiated price is out of whack.

If Medicare was allowed to negotiate the prices of drugs, this type of thing would no longer happen.  It is a fact that the prices negotiated through the Tricare military health care plan are cheaper than that negotiated through private health care providers.  An analysis by the National Committee To Preserve Medicare and Social Security showed that Tricare prices on the top 10 drugs being used were 48% cheaper than Medicare Part D prices.  That's a huge difference.

Allowing the negotiation of drug prices through private health care providers was passed along with the Part D legislation.  Also, it prohibited the purchasing of drugs from Canada, another bad move.  Initially, the Affordable Care Act had provisions to allow Medicare to take over the negotiations, but this was taken out.   This should absolutely be brought up again, and passed.  Obama has promised to repeal the prohibition and let Medicare negotiate prices, but it hasn't happened yet, and certainly won't even be brought up again unless he gets reelected.  Whoever wins needs to look at this critical issue.  It would greatly help seniors and would bring down the skyrocketing cost of pharmaceuticals.