DRUGS/HHS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration on Thursday [1-31-19] proposed an ambitious overhaul of the drug purchasing system in its latest bid to lower the cost of medicines. The Department of Health and Human Services proposed eliminating a legal exemption and making the rebates drugmakers give insurance plans and middlemen in the drug supply chain subject to fines under the federal anti-kickback statute. It plans to create a new legal exemption for prescription drug discounts that are offered directly to patients. The rule would fulfill part of President Donald Trump’s drug pricing blueprint. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first hinted to Congress last year he was looking at forbidding all drug company payments to pharmacy benefit managers — middlemen who negotiate drug prices — by leveraging anti-kickback laws. Critics said the current ‘safe harbor’ protection that empowers the rebate system creates an incentive for those middlemen and insurers to demand big rebates and then keep them as profits.”
–Sarah Karlin-Smith and Sarah Owermohle, “Trump administration targets rebates blamed for inflating drug prices,” Politico, January 31, 2019 6:21 pm