Trump's New Medicare Rule To Reduce Prescription Drug Prices Through Competition

Forbes  "Earlier today, the Trump administration announced a new rule that will help reduce prescription drug prices for many seniors enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program. How does it work? By reforming a long-standing quirk in Medicare that prevented drugmakers from competing with each other.

How competition lowers drug prices

"When U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the Trump administration’s detailed plan to reduce high prescription drug prices, much of the press yawned because many journalists assume that the only thing that can reduce drug prices is government-administered price controls.

"In contrast to that conventional wisdom, the plan contains a number of elegant and subtle solutions that will enhance the role of competition in bringing drug prices down.

"A surprising fact that few people know is that America leads the world in encouraging doctors and patients to use low-cost, high-value generic drugs. More than four-fifths of all prescriptions in the U.S. are for unbranded, off-patent generic drugs that cost less than your typical bottle of mineral water. For people with run-of-the-mill medical issues like high blood pressure, early-stage diabetes, and high cholesterol, these inexpensive drugs are a tremendous boon to public health." . . .

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