Drugmakers Warned Against Giving Coupons To Medicare Beneficiaries

While brand-name drugmakers regularly use coupons to boost sales, it is illegal to induce Medicare Part D enrollees to use them. Meanwhile, a researcher asks members of the public how they would fix Medicare.

<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/pharmalot/2014/09/22/what-safeguards-Medicare-part-d-patients-use-drug-coupons-anyway/?KEYWORDS=Medicare“>The Wall Street Journal’s Pharmalot: Did Someone Say Kickbacks? HHS Warns About Medicare Part D Coupons

Brand-name drug makers regularly use coupons to woo consumers and boost sales. But inducing Medicare Part D beneficiaries to use coupons is illegal. So drug makers are supposed to use safeguards to ensure these consumers do not use coupons to obtain prescription medicines (Silverman, 9/22).

<a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140922/NEWS/309229940/Medicare-gives-first-glimpse-of-aco-quality-performance”>Modern Healthcare:  Medicare Gives First Glimpse Of ACO Quality Performance

The CMS for the first time publicly released individual performance data for Medicare accountable-care organizations on 33 measures of healthcare quality (Evans, 9/22).

<a href="http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/09/how-to-fix-Medicare-ask-the-people/”>Kaiser Health News: Capsules: How To Fix Medicare? Ask The Public

Washington is full of ideas to overhaul Medicare. Some would increase the program’s eligibility age, others would charge higher-income beneficiaries more for their coverage. There’s movement to link payment to the quality — rather than the quantity — of care delivered. Marge Ginsburg decided to ask ordinary Americans how they would change the federal entitlement program (Carey, 9/23).

Drugmakers Warned Against Giving Coupons To Medicare Beneficiaries