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Trying to cut high drug costs, the prices paid by Medicare for certain prescription drugs would be based on those in other advanced industrial nations, according to a proposal announced Thursday by the Trump administration.
The move would cut costs for Medicare and save beneficiaries millions of dollars, according to the Times. Under a demonstration project in half the country, Medicare would create and use and “international pricing index” to decide how much to pay for drugs covered by Part B of Medicare.
A recently-released government study said that Medicare paid 80 percent more than other advanced industrial countries for some of the most expensive prescription medicines, The Times reported.
The proposal was met with skepticism by Democrats.
“It’s hard to take the Trump administration and Republicans seriously about reducing health care costs for seniors two weeks before the election when they have repeatedly advocated for and implemented policies that strip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions and lead to increased health care costs for millions of Americans,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, The Times reported.
A number of health care-related announcements have been made by the White House ahead of next month’s midterm elections. Health care has been a major focus of Democrats in their campaigns, including high drug prices and warnings that Republicans will remove protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.