MEDICAID CHEAPER THAN MEDICARE D
According to a new report, in 2006, prices paid for drugs used by people with Medicare and Medicaid under the Part D drug benefit cost $1.7 billion more than when Medicaid paid for the same drugs before the start of Part D. (Medicare Part D: Drug Pricing and Manufacturer Windfalls, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, July 2008) This report also found
-From: MEDICARE WATCH , a biweekly electronic newsletter of the Medicare Rights Center, Vol. 11 , No. 16 : August 5, 2008.
- that Medicare Part D pays on average 30% more for drugs than does Medicaid and
- that this discrepancy in pricing produced a windfall worth over $3.7 billion for drug manufacturers in the first two years of the Medicare Part D program.
9/08