布什政府寻求国会同意处方药物折扣计划
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - The Bush Administration has begun lobbying Congress for a new law that would save the president's beleaguered prescription drug discount card plan.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Thomas Scully said on Monday that he is holding discussions with lawmakers to negotiate a bill giving statutory authority to the discount card plan. Such a law could save the scheme, which was nipped in the bud in July when a federal judge issued an injunction against it.
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"I'm going to spend a lot of time talking to people on the Hill this week," Scully said in an interview following a speech to the American Association of Health Plans. Officials are hoping to convince Democrats to support the plan and pass a bill before Congress recesses this fall.
Early indications from legislative staff are that some Democratic lawmakers might support the controversial plan.
Introduced on July 12, the plan was designed to offer senior citizens discounts of up to 25% on prescription drugs in exchange for a one-time sign up fee of $25. Day-to-day operations were to be handed over to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), companies that use managed care policies and wholesale purchasing power to offer lower drug prices.
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But a federal judge ruled against the program after pharmacists' groups complained that the government had illegally delegated regulatory authority to PBMs. The plan also roiled some Democrats, who accused the president of seeking the quick upper hand in the politically touchy debate over adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
Attorneys for the government appealed the injunction last week, but a final court order authorizing the discount plan could take months.
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"Now that we are prohibited from doing it, I would love to have a couple of Democrats help us get it passed and give them all the credit," Scully said. But some Democrats indicated that they were cautious about supporting the plan, and others offered a flat rejection.
The discount plan "has the potential to be a good idea," said one senior Democratic Senate aide. "But I think it's going to be a mixed reaction."
A Democratic House aide familiar with the proposal called the plan "a Medicare seal of approval marketing tool for the private sector," saying that it would not solve the problem of how to get affordable drugs to seniors "and, in fact, it may even be harmful."
Scully told reporters that partisan politics was standing in the plan's way, suggesting that many Democrats did not like the discount proposal simply because it was announced by a Republican president. "I hope it's going to become much more bipartisan in the next few weeks," he said., 百拇医药
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Thomas Scully said on Monday that he is holding discussions with lawmakers to negotiate a bill giving statutory authority to the discount card plan. Such a law could save the scheme, which was nipped in the bud in July when a federal judge issued an injunction against it.
, 百拇医药
"I'm going to spend a lot of time talking to people on the Hill this week," Scully said in an interview following a speech to the American Association of Health Plans. Officials are hoping to convince Democrats to support the plan and pass a bill before Congress recesses this fall.
Early indications from legislative staff are that some Democratic lawmakers might support the controversial plan.
Introduced on July 12, the plan was designed to offer senior citizens discounts of up to 25% on prescription drugs in exchange for a one-time sign up fee of $25. Day-to-day operations were to be handed over to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), companies that use managed care policies and wholesale purchasing power to offer lower drug prices.
, 百拇医药
But a federal judge ruled against the program after pharmacists' groups complained that the government had illegally delegated regulatory authority to PBMs. The plan also roiled some Democrats, who accused the president of seeking the quick upper hand in the politically touchy debate over adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
Attorneys for the government appealed the injunction last week, but a final court order authorizing the discount plan could take months.
, http://www.100md.com
"Now that we are prohibited from doing it, I would love to have a couple of Democrats help us get it passed and give them all the credit," Scully said. But some Democrats indicated that they were cautious about supporting the plan, and others offered a flat rejection.
The discount plan "has the potential to be a good idea," said one senior Democratic Senate aide. "But I think it's going to be a mixed reaction."
A Democratic House aide familiar with the proposal called the plan "a Medicare seal of approval marketing tool for the private sector," saying that it would not solve the problem of how to get affordable drugs to seniors "and, in fact, it may even be harmful."
Scully told reporters that partisan politics was standing in the plan's way, suggesting that many Democrats did not like the discount proposal simply because it was announced by a Republican president. "I hope it's going to become much more bipartisan in the next few weeks," he said., 百拇医药