Editorial Board
One Way Massachusetts Could Make Drugs Less Expensive
It's an idea well worth trying.
Where Medicaid wastes money.
Photographer: William Thomas Cain/Getty ImagesOne big reason Americans pay too much for prescription drugs is that the government has been so reluctant to push prices down. Private health insurers pick and choose the medicines they cover and use that discretion to strike deals with drug companies. Medicaid -- which would have far greater negotiating power, if it were to use it -- is forbidden to do the same.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker would like to begin to change that. He's asked the federal government to let his state's Medicaid program create a selective drug formulary and negotiate prices for the products it chooses to cover.