[ad_1]
reThe emocrats were skeptical this week when President Trump decided to adopt a policy that they advocate and install price controls on some Medicare drugs, a reaction that reflects persistent resentment after the deadly battle of 2017 on the abrogation of Obamacare.
Trump broke with traditional Republican politics by announcing Thursday a proposal to tie the reimbursement of some Medicare drugs to prices that other rich countries like Germany or France pay.
Although congressional Democrats have been receptive to similar policies in the past, they welcomed Trump's proposal with harsh criticism, reminding the public of the president's pursuit of Obamacare's dismissal.
"It's hard to take the Trump administration and the Republicans seriously on lowering health care costs for seniors two weeks before the elections, while they've pleaded repeatedly for putting in place policies that remove protections for people already suffering from diseases and incur costs of Americans, "said Thursday the leader of the Senate minority Chuck Schumer.
The administration is currently seeking comments on the proposal in order to publish a rule proposal in the spring of 2019.
The proposal would link prices paid by Medicare for drugs administered by doctors, such as vaccines, and prices paid by rich countries, which are much lower.
"It sounds a lot like the politics of the Democrats, at a fairly significant price setting," said Shawn Gremminger, senior director of federal relations for the pro-Obamacare Group, Families United States.
The group praised the proposal, but was skeptical about the timing, two weeks before an election in which Democrats are hammering Republicans about health care and their unpopular and unsuccessful attempt to win. repeal Obamacare.
Gremminger said that there was currently a lot of skepticism and mistrust regarding health care.
"I think there is no doubt that 2017 has been a deadly year in terms of the fight for health," he said, referring to the GOP's unsuccessful attempt to repeal Obamacare. "Since then, the Trump administration has done a lot of things administratively, which, according to the Democrats, has undermined the [Affordable Care Act]. "
Elijah Cummings, Maryland's representative in Maryland, is the best example of the Democrats' reluctance to work with Trump. He is a strong advocate of policies to lower the price of drugs.
Cummings met Trump in March 2017 alongside Representative Peter Welch, D-Vt, at the Oval Office, and was convinced that the President would support a bill giving Medicare the power to negotiate directly with manufacturers of drugs, a reform of Trump. called several times during the 2016 campaign.
Months later, Cumpings felt scared by Trump after he refused to approve the bill, which was introduced but which was not driven anywhere in Congress.
Cummings was now critical of Trump's latest opener against high prices.
"President Trump and congressional Republicans have spent the past two years sabotaging our health system and targeting protections for people with pre-existing conditions," he said.
Welch also pointed out to the Washington Post that the timing of the proposal, just before the elections, was suspect. "Health care is a big problem," he said. "Count me skeptical."
But some Democrats have taken a more welcoming tone. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Tweeted that the proposal is a "step in the right direction".
At the same time, Trump's proposal will probably not get much support from the Capitol Hill Republicans. Republicans have traditionally adopted market forces rather than government pricing to address the problem of drug prices.
The administration is "stuck in a tough place where they are not politically aligned with Democrats and non-aligned with Republicans on politics," said Gremminger.
Gremminger noted that there had been some bipartisan successes in 2018 in health care, mainly an important package that Trump signed into law earlier this week to combat the opioid crisis. But while the opioid legislation was largely bipartite, he admitted that the drug pricing proposal was a "much steeper slope".
Technically, Trump does not need to go through Congress to enact regulation, but having allies on the Hill could alleviate the massive rejection of the efforts of special interest groups.
"It's really unpopular, not just with the pharmaceutical industry, but hospitals do not like it and doctors do," Gremminger said of the proposal.
Already, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the leading lobby group of drug manufacturers, has called the proposal "foreign price controls" and "socialism-related."
The American Medical Association did not oppose the policy outright, but said it had "questions" about the impact on patient access.
The proposal would radically change how doctors and hospitals pay under Part B of Medicare, which covers medications administered by a physician. Currently, Medicare pays doctors or hospitals the average sale price of a Part B drug plus 4% of this additional price to cover the treatment costs.
Over the next five years, the proposal would instead pay doctors and hospitals a fixed rate for handling and storing each Part B drug. It is still unclear what this rate would be, but doctors and hospitals want to know how they are going to get out under a new order.
[ad_2]
Source link
