tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9551150.post6890479089864185026..comments2024-03-17T05:36:26.059-04:00Comments on Health Care Renewal: Contrasts and Contradictions in How Right- and Left-Wing Politicians Address Pharmaceuticals and MedicareRoy M. Poses MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497209843184497847noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9551150.post-85238459458655393422007-01-15T10:36:00.000-05:002007-01-15T10:36:00.000-05:00"Well, that's an argument for a formulary isn't it..."Well, that's an argument for a formulary isn't it" <br /><br />Yes, it is. That the House Bill prohibits a formulary is reason to wonder whether negotiation can work - or whether negotiation is so enfeebled by this prohibition that results will be quite limited, particularly for drugs which have no generic equivalent. <br /><br />". . . an option that the Democrats (and of course, the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9551150.post-51229633949643083812007-01-14T12:49:00.000-05:002007-01-14T12:49:00.000-05:00Well, that's an argument for a formulary isn't it,...Well, that's an argument for a formulary isn't it, an option that the Democrats (and of course, the Republicans) rejected.<br />Or what about simply refusing to pay more than a given amount for a particular drug. The manufacturer could accept that amount, or balance bill the patient.<br />Remember, I'm a doc, and Medicare tells me exactly what they will pay for my services, and if I want more Roy M. Poses MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497209843184497847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9551150.post-9324194323166790132007-01-13T17:22:00.000-05:002007-01-13T17:22:00.000-05:00Doc, aside from your suggestion that Enthoven can'...Doc, aside from your suggestion that Enthoven can't be right about this because he was wrong about other things before, you make a fair point about the availability of near-equivalent drugs within therapeutic classes.<br /><br />But I think the important question remains: How likely are manufacturers to decide that refusal to discount will actually affect their volume? There does not seem to be Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9551150.post-88219575826266062822007-01-13T16:34:00.000-05:002007-01-13T16:34:00.000-05:00Remember, that's the same Enthoven who was so keen...Remember, that's the same Enthoven who was so keen on breaking up the "physicians' guild" as a sure-fire way to cut medical costs. (See our post here: http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2006/03/consequences-of-breaking-physicians.html/. <br /> Enthoven was one of the major supporters of managed care, and of handing over as much control of health care as possible to managers and bureaucrats. And see Roy M. Poses MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00497209843184497847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9551150.post-51425297556402198012007-01-12T22:45:00.000-05:002007-01-12T22:45:00.000-05:00Stripped of the breathless partisan baying back an...Stripped of the breathless partisan baying back and forth there may be a legitimate objection to the drug price negotiation bill passed by the House today: it won't work.<br /><br />The Congressional Budget office has stated for the record that "The secretary would be unable to negotiate prices across the broad range of covered Part D drugs that are more favorable than those obtained by (the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com