Increasing Drug Makers' Coverage-Gap Discounts Lowers Premiums

Senators tout the budget law for closing the Part D donut hole a year early, but the more significant result for beneficiaries is that it will lower drug premiums, according to Jack Hoadley, a congressional Medicare adviser and policy analyst for Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute. Although the Part D measure is considered a major loss for drug makers, the bill also would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which removes the potential for pay cuts to both the drug...