| News for the PBM Industry |  |
| Featured Story |  |  |
|
- Lawmakers encourage 6-day home delivery
A coalition of 88 lawmakers signed a letter urging the U.S. Postal Service to ensure prescription drugs continue to be delivered six days a week. "Consumers count on getting their prescriptions at the right time and often can't wait an additional two days, or even three days in the case of federal holidays that fall on a Monday," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. Bloomberg BNA (subscription required)
(2/14)     
| Legislative & Regulatory News | | |
|
- Exchanges will be ready by Oct. 1, HHS tells Congress
HHS official Gary Cohen assured a Senate panel that all 50 state health insurance markets would meet the enrollment deadline on Oct. 1. Senators from both parties raised concerns about how affordable plans on the exchanges will be. Reuters
(2/14)
- Governors continue push for hybrid Medicaid expansion
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, rejected an expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act and instead proposed giving federal subsidies to people with incomes above the poverty line to purchase insurance from the public marketplace. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, have asked the Obama administration to fund expansion of Medicaid eligibility to 100% of the poverty line and give people at up to 133% of the poverty line the choice between Medicaid and subsidized private insurance. Politico (Washington, D.C.)
(2/14)
- Coalition: Give feds power to negotiate Medicare drug prices
The federal government should be able to negotiate the prices of Medicare drugs, says a liberal coalition. "It's ridiculous for Medicare to be paying drug companies two and three times as much money for drugs as other countries at a time when we are cutting essential programs," the Center for Economic and Policy Research's Dean Baker said. Pharmacy benefit managers and insurers have taken on that negotiation role, drugmakers say. The Hill/Healthwatch blog
(2/14)
| Drug Industry Spotlight | | |
|
| SmartQuote | | |
|
 | If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal. Not to people or things."
--Albert Einstein,
German-born theoretical physicist
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| About PCMA |
|
PCMA is the national association representing America's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune
500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D. PCMA is dedicated to enhancing the proven tools and techniques pioneered by PBMs that generate savings and access for consumers and payors.
|
|
| |
| | Recent PCMA SmartBrief Issues:
- Thursday, February 14, 2013
- Wednesday, February 13, 2013
- Tuesday, February 12, 2013
- Monday, February 11, 2013
- Friday, February 08, 2013
| | | Lead Editor: Melissa Turner
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2013 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
