Stakeholders Agree: Finalizing Trump Administration Rebate Rule Will Lead to Premium Increases for Seniors
Today, the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs released the following statement regarding news that the Trump Administration is expected to finalize the prescription drug “Rebate Rule”:
“Finalizing the prescription drug Rebate Rule will not only fail to reduce drug prices, it will also raise premiums and costs for seniors and taxpayers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate our communities. The Trump Administration’s own actuarial analyses show implementing this misguided rule would raise premiums for Medicare beneficiaries by up to 25% and increase government spending by nearly $200 billion. Moving forward with the Rebate Rule will ultimately deliver windfall profits to drug companies at the expense of seniors and hardworking Americans and will do nothing to lower soaring drug prices.
“Unfortunately, the Rebate Rule does not require nor incentivize drug companies to lower the prices they set and routinely raise for prescription drugs. Rather, it attacks the one piece of the prescription drug supply chain that is actively working to lower costs and ensure access: PBMs. Now that the Administration is finalizing this rule, we call on Congress and the new Biden Administration to protect seniors from higher premiums by overturning this rule and instead tackle the root cause of high prescription drugs: the prices set by the pharmaceutical companies.”