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The ‘Rebate Rule’ Reborn? US Senate Bill Would Test Price Pass-Throughs

 
• By Michael McCaughan

A plan to ban rebates in the US Medicare outpatient drug program was a signature policy proposal of the Trump Administration – but has never been implemented. A Senate bill tests a different approach to the same goal of ensuring that price concessions by manufacturers translate into lower prices charged at the pharmacy counter.

US capitol watercolor reflection
If enacted, the legislation will give stakeholders a chance to reflect on the impact of Trump-era policy proposals. • Source: Shutterstock

A bill heading to the Senate floor includes what amounts to a small pilot test of one of the big ideas for pharmaceutical payment reform in the US: requiring that rebates and discounts flow through to the patient filling a prescription, rather than serving to reduce premium costs (and/or increase the profits of the insurer intermediaries).

Key Takeaways

  • Senate legislation revives the Trump-era idea of rebate pass-through.

The provision has been approved by the Finance Committee and heads to the Senate floor where it will be considered...

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