Negotiated Prices for Medicare D
From Fox News:
Critics of the new Medicare Prescription Drug Program are pointing out that the program could save its members a lot more money by negotiating prescription drug prices as Veterans Affairs does. Researchers created a fictional patient that wouldn’t be eligible for Medicare’s extra assistance programs and compared pricing from Drugstore.com, Medicare Part D, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Name Brand Drug:
The imaginary patient would save about 11 percent annually on the heart drugs by using the Medicare card, compared to buying the drugs at normal online retail prices.
“However, the Denver VAMC could supply the same regimen for 60.5 percent less than drugstore.com and 55.8 percent less than the Medicare discount plan,” write the doctors.
None of the brand-name medicines are on the Denver VAMC’s preferred formulary list, the doctors note. “Use of a preferred formulary model for Medicare would likely further increase the savings,” they write.
Generic Drug:
The pattern was the same for the generic drugs. The Medicare card shaved about 40 percent off the generic heart drugs’ annual costs.
“However, the Denver VAMC could supply the same regimen for 77 percent less than drugstore.com and 61.8 percent less than the Medicare discount plan,” write the doctors.