Democrats Draft Bill That Would Require HHS to Negotiate Lower Medicare Drug Prices

House Democrats are circulating a draft bill that would require the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary to negotiate lower prices for drugs covered by the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Although the language requiring such negotiations sounds tough, analysts differed on whether it would actually lead to lower prices under the Medicare benefit. Democratic aides, however, insisted it would produce large savings. Read more »

Final CBO Score Says Docs Face 10 Percent Payment Cut in 2008

Last year's lobbying blitz by doctors to avoid a 5 percent cut in 2007 Medicare payments managed to keep payments flat, but physicians now face a 10 percent cut in Medicare payments in 2008, according to a final scoring document by the Congressional Budget Office. Read more »

From the CQ Newsroom: Democratic Agenda Faces Uphill Climb

Although new presidents often enjoy a 100-day honeymoon with Congress, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would gladly settle for 100 hours to get the new Congress off to a strong start. But the California Democrat, who will usher in new a Democratic majority, is unlikely to get even that. Read more »

GAO Report Examines Challenges to Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program

The Government Accountability Office has released a report on the challenges facing the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program as the demand for nursing home care increases. The prospect of a burgeoning demand for long-term care moved the federal government to offer such a benefit to some of its employees beginning in 2002. On Oct. 15, 2001, an estimated 19 million employees were eligible for the benefit. In September 2006, roughly 214,000 employees had enrolled. Read more »

Senate Finance Committee to Examine How—And How Well—Drug Negotiations Would Work

While House Democrats already have developed specific bill language that would empower the Department of Health and Human Services secretary to negotiate directly with drugmakers, their Senate counterparts are moving more slowly on the issue of prices paid by Medicare for prescription drugs. And they aren't committed to taking the approach followed by their House colleagues. Read more »

Study Finds Only Slight Increase in Quality-Based Doc Payments

Physician compensation based on quality measures has increased slightly, but incentives tied to productivity remain the top form of reimbursement, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Read more »