A Rare Loss for U.S. Pharma Lobby Will Cost the Industry Billions
- Medicare-rule defeat raises questions about battles ahead
- ‘They’re in a defensive position’ as Trump ponders drug plan
Photographer: Antoine Antoniol/Bloomberg
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Deep in a budget deal Congress passed earlier this year -- just 118 words in Section 53116, a little before passages on prison reporting data and payment yields for seed cotton -- was a hit to pharmaceutical companies that will cost them billions, and could signal more losses to come.
Despite an intense lobbying push, lawmakers changed a Medicare rule, putting manufacturers on the hook for more of seniors’ prescription costs. The companies will have to offer a much more generous discount to beneficiaries who fall into the so-called donut hole coverage gap, marking down retail costs by 70 percent instead of the current 50 percent.